Toronto led 6-0 early in this game, but Cincinnati scored the next 11 runs and overwhelmed the Blue Jays with a comeback victory, ending the series with the Reds winning two of the three games in Canada.
| final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (62-65) |
11 | 11 | 1 |
| Toronto Blue Jays (59-68) | 7 | 10 | 1 |
| W: Heath (3-3) L: Little (1-2) |
|||
| Match report | Match thread | |||
Much like the night before, Toronto wasted no time in taking the lead. George Springer opened the bottom of the 1st inning with a home run – his third in the last two games. Spencer Horwitz hit a 2-run home run later in the inning and in no time the Blue Jays were up 3-0. It stayed that way until the bottom of the 3rd inning when Ernie Clement hit a 3-run home run to extend Toronto’s lead to 6-0.
Elly De La Cruz started the 4th inning with a single, but his aggressive baserunning had him trying to turn it into a double and he was thrown out. Sometimes that aggressiveness doesn’t pay off and that was the case here when Tyler Stephenson followed with a single and then scored on a home run by Spencer Steer that cut the lead to 6-2.
Cincinnati caught up a bit in the 5th inning when Santiago Espinal hit a single to start the inning. Noelvi Marte, Jonathan India and Elly De La Cruz all singled with 1 out – and the latter two scored runs that made it 6-5. A wild pitch moved De La Cruz to second base and then he stole third base, giving him 60 steals on the year. He became only the 5th player ever to hit 20 home runs and 60 steals in the same season.
Previously, it was the aggressiveness on the bases that cost De La Cruz and the Reds the win. This time, it paid off when Tyler Stephenson hit the ball directly to the shortstop, but De La Cruz ran to the plate upon contact and with the throw just to the other side of the plate, gave the Reds shortstop just enough room to slide safely into the plate and tie the game.
The inning wasn’t over at that point, however. A fielding error put two players on base with two outs and Toronto had to go to the bullpen. New pitcher Erik Swanson came in and struck out Ty France to load the bases. Santiago Espinal then worked a 5-pitch walk to score the winning run.
Cincinnati played an add-on in the 6th inning. Noelvi Marte and Jonathan India hit two home runs in a row to start the inning, making it 9-6. Elly De La Cruz then worked a walk and found herself on second base after three failed pickoff attempts triggered an automatic balk. Tyler Stephenson then doubled down the line, making it 10-6.
Elly De La Cruz extended the Reds’ lead to 11-6 when he opened the 8th inning with an opposite-field home run that flew just over the wall near the foul post in left field.
After the Reds went down in order in the ninth inning, Fernando Cruz came in to clinch the series for Cincinnati. Things didn’t quite go to plan, as he allowed a single and a walk to start the inning. That sent Alexis Diaz warming up in the bullpen, but Cruz got Ernie Clement to hit a ground ball, making a double play. The next pitch he threw, however, was hammered into the wall by Leo Jimenez for an RBI double. Another hard-hit ball followed, but TJ Friedl barely had to move to catch the line drive and end the game.
Key moment of the game
The 5-run 5th inning completed the Reds’ comeback, gave them the lead and ensured they remained in control for the rest of the game.
Noteworthy information
During the 1st inning of the game, Joey Votto announced his retirement from professional baseball on Instagram. Fittingly, this happened during the final game of a series between the Reds and Blue Jays.
Only five players have ever had a 20/60 season. Three of those players were with the Cincinnati Reds back in the day. Elly De La Cruz did it tonight. Joe Morgan did it twice (1973 and 1976) and Eric Davis in 1986. Ronald Acuna Jr. did it last season and Rickey Henderson did it three times (1985, 1986 and 1990).
De La Cruz finished the night 3-4 with one walk, one home run, one steal, three runs scored and three runs batted in.
Cincinnati hit four home runs that day.
Next up for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Pittsburgh Pirates
Thursday, August 22, 6:40 p.m. ET
Nick Lodolo (9-5, 4.55 ERA) vs. Paul Skenes (7-2, 2.30 ERA)
