Elly and the Reds blast past Rays in 12-6 drubbing
The Cincinnati Reds socked five homers and moved to 16-8 on the season.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - APRIL 20: Elly de la Cruz #44 of the Cincinnati Reds hits an RBI single in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on April 20, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Cincinnati Reds mashed their way past the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night at the Trop, hitting five home runs along the way. At one point, they held a 12-2 lead – that came as they entered the Bottom of the 9th inning – before things went a little sideways for reliever Kyle Nicolas as he tried to finish off the win (1.
0 IP, H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 2 K on 42 pitches). Let’s focus on the positives here, though, as there were many. For one, we watched as Elly De La Cruz destroyed a pair of homers as part of a larger 3 for 6, 3 R, 5 RBI game that featured a pair of homers – both from the right side of the plate.
His second homer of the night did come against Rays position player Ben Williamson pitching in a mop-up role, but Elly opted to hit righty off the righty Williamson and still managed to sock a homer. That’s good enough stuff to take home tonight’s Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game . Homers also came off the bats of Ke’Bryan Hayes and Dane Myers, theirs coming back to back off Rays starter Steven Matz in the Top of the 2nd.
Hayes finished with a 1 for 3 night that included a pair of walks and a pair of runs scored in easily his best offensive outing of the season. Spencer Steer also homered (and walked twice), while Sal Stewart merely chipped in with a 2 for 4 night that included a trio of ribbies and another stolen base. Despite the struggles from Nicolas late, Chase Burns (5.