After spending five-plus games against the Dodgers over the past week trying to beat them by himself, Elly De La Cruz finally got a little help from his friends.
And just like that, the Cincinnati Reds
snapped a 10-game losing streak against the reigning back-to-back champs, 6-2 on Wednesday, Sept .16, pushing back the Dodgers’ clinching of the National League West by at least a few hours (pending the Padres-Rockies result out west).The Reds also got some help from two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell's early exit that turned this one into an unexpected bullpen game for the Dodgers.
Snell, who was making his seventh start since returning from elbow surgery for bone chips, faced only three batters before leading the game with "left groin tightness,"
per the Dodgers.
He retired Dane Myers and De La Cruz, then gave up a single to Sal Stewart, who was thrown out trying to steal second. Snell, who was 4-1 with a 1.91 ERA this season, did not take the mound in the second.
It was Snell's first start at Great American Ball Park since he threw a no-hitter in 2024 for the Giants in his first career start of more than seven innings.
Whether that was more decisive than De La Cruz's continued 10-day assault on the Dodgers, the Reds beat the champs for the first time since July 30 last year – with a two-game playoff sweep included in the skid.
De La Cruz continued to swing a one-man wrecking bat against the Dodgers with a go-ahead two-run homer in the third inning – his fifth in six games against the Dodgers.
Until Myers added a solo shot two innings later, De La Cruz had driven in seven of the nine Reds runs against the Dodgers in five meetings plus four innings this season, all dating to Monday of last week – and all of the Reds' runs in the previous four games (plus four innings).
"He's definitely had a lot of success against us," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "I know him enough through All-Star games and things like that, that he likes the big stage. He wants to play against the best. And against us, he certainly performs."
Specifically, the red-hot Red is 9-for-21 in six games against the Dodgers this season, with the five home runs, seven RBIs, two doubles and a 1.708 OPS.
Those home runs included two that put the Reds ahead, one that tied the game and one that bounced out of GABP.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Elly De La Cruz homers again as Cincinnati Reds halt skid vs. Dodgers
