Elly De La Cruz Delivers First Career Walk-Off Hit as Reds Rally Past Cardinals

The Cincinnati Reds were down to their final out on Monday night, trailing the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 in the second game of a doubleheader at Great American Ball Park. Having already dropped the opening game 2-1, the Reds were staring down the barrel of a sweep and a four-game losing streak. Instead, they engineered a dramatic comeback that culminated in a career milestone for their brightest young star.[1][3]

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Reds manager David Bell called upon Dane Myers to pinch-hit. Myers, who had already homered in the first game of the twin bill, delivered exactly what the team needed. He drove a pitch from Cardinals reliever Peter Strzelecki deep into the left-center seats for a game-tying solo home run, breathing new life into the stadium and sending the contest into extra innings.[1][2][3]

Cincinnati reliever Emilio Pagán took the mound for the top of the 10th inning and held the line perfectly. Pagán worked around a walk to pitch a hitless frame, striking out a pair of Cardinals to keep the score knotted at 5-5 and set the stage for the bottom of the inning.[1][3]

Elly De La Cruz stepped to the plate against St. Louis reliever Justin Bruihl to lead off the bottom of the 10th. De La Cruz had been mired in a brutal slump, entering the nightcap hitting just .114 over his previous 12 games and having gone 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in the afternoon opener. But in the designated hitter role for Game 2, he had already found his timing with a hit earlier in the evening.[2][3]

Working a full 3-2 count against Bruihl's sweeper, De La Cruz unleashed a blistering ground ball down the third-base line, registering an exit velocity of 110 mph. The ball deflected off the glove of a diving Blaze Jordan at third base and rolled into left field. Automatic runner Tyler Stephenson scored easily from second base, sealing the 6-5 victory and giving De La Cruz the very first walk-off hit of his major league career.[1][3][4]

The late-game heroics were necessary because the Cardinals had built a solid 4-1 advantage by the middle innings. St. Louis broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth when Iván Herrera launched his 14th home run of the season, followed by an RBI single from Masyn Winn. In the sixth, Nathan Church and Blaze Jordan added RBI singles of their own to extend the lead.[1][3]

Cincinnati refused to fold, mounting their initial comeback in the bottom of the sixth against Cardinals starter Andre Pallante. Michael Toglia ripped an RBI double to cut into the deficit, and rookie Héctor Rodríguez followed with a clutch two-run single to center field. The hit marked the first two RBIs of Rodríguez's major league career and tied the game at 4-4.[1][3]

The Reds' bullpen was saved from exhaustion thanks to a gritty performance by starting pitcher Rhett Lowder. The right-hander matched a career high by tossing 6 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out five and issuing zero walks. Lowder's ability to eat innings proved crucial in a doubleheader scenario, keeping the team within striking distance for Myers and De La Cruz to eventually steal the show.[1][2]