CINCINNATI — Much has been made about the Reds inability to rally from late-inning deficits and score in extra innings this season.
On Tuesday night against the New York Yankees, those narratives flipped. The Reds rallied from a 3-0, seventh-inning deficit to tie the game on a bases-clearing double by Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and they scored two runs in the bottom of the 11th, thanks to Elly De La Cruz’s hustle and Gavin Lux’s walk-off single, to beat the Yankees 5-4.
The Reds are now back to a season-high four games over .500 at 42-38, and they have now won the series agianst the New York Yankees. Not to mention, the Reds have won five straight against the Yankees dating back to last season.
Chase Burns began the night making his Major League debut in electric fashion, and Elly De La Cruz ended the night with his hustle and base-running in the most exciting win this season for the Reds.
Let’s look at the key takeaways from Tuesday night’s 5-4, 11-inning win over the Yankees.
Elly De La Cruz Ignites 11th Inning Rally
This is what you want from your superstar if you’re a Reds fan. With the Reds trailing 4-3 to begin the bottom of the 11th, De La Cruz beat out a ground ball to first to lead off the inning. It moved Matt McLain to third, but more importantly, made De La Cruz the winning run.
Spencer Steer delivered a single to center to tie the game 4-4, moving De La Cruz into scoring position. He would move to third on a wild pitch from Yankees right-handed reliever Mark Leiter Jr.
All that was left, after Tyler Stephenson walked to load the bases with nobody out, was for pinch-hitter Gavin Lux to line a single to center to give the Reds a thrilling walk-off 5-4 win.
De La Cruz ignited the Reds winning rally and scored the winning run. His presence on the bases completely changed the dynamic of the bottom of the 11th inning. There was a shift in the energy in Great American Ball Park when he beat out that ground ball, and that energy helped lift the Reds to an improbable win.
Chase Burns’s Electric Major League Debut
Burns got off to an electric start, striking out the first five Yankees to come to the plate. He’s the first pitcher to accomplish that feat in his MLB debut since 1960.
The right-hander went on to strike out seven of the first nine Yankees he retired.
Then in the fourth, the Reds hard-throwing rookie got knocked around for three runs. They came in the form of a leadoff solo home-run from Ben Rice and a two run-triple by Anthony Volpe.
He would rebound to pitch a scoreless fifth, finishing his debut with 81 pitches and 53 going for strikes.
Given the stage, pitching against the New York Yankees in his Major League debut, Burns came out firing and finished strong.
He has a bright future with the Reds. Tonight was a glimpse of just how special his future can be.
Reds Big Seventh Inning Rally
After struggling in six shutout innings against Yankees left-handed starter Carlos Rodon, the Reds offense woke up in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Tyler Stephenson started the rally with a walk, and you know what they say about the walks.
The Reds eventually loaded the bases with one out for Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who delivered one of the biggest hits of the season so far with a game-tying three-run double to tie the game.
Encarnacion-Strand had a walk-off hit against the Arizona Diamondbacks back on June 7th, but he had struggled at the plate since that game. Tuesday night, though, his bat met the ball and produced a game-tying bases-clearing double to tie the game.
Reds Bullpen Comes Through Again
Do not overlook the effort by the Reds bullpen Tuesday night. Ian Giabut, Brent Suter, Lyon Richardson, Tony Santillan and Connor Phillips combined for six innings and one unearned run on just one hit and two ealks.
After pitching 4 2/3 innings Monday night, and having pitched extensively over the weekend in St. Louis, the effort the Reds bullpen gave Tuesday night was Herculean.
For the second straight season, the Reds can sweep the Yankees with a win Wednesday night. Right-hander Brady Singer (7-5, 4.13 ERA) will get the ball for the Reds against Yankees left-hander Max Fried (9-2, 2.05 ERA)
First pitch is at 7:10 E.T. on FanDuel Sports Network Cincinnati and 700WLW.
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