PITTSBURGH — A few minutes after 7 p.m Friday night, Elly De La Cruz stepped to the plate in the first inning at PNC Park and for the first time since July 16, he was not the Cincinnati Reds’ first batter in a game he started.
In fact, in large part because of that, the Reds had two men on base.
And three pitches later, the slumping rookie laced a 2-0 pitch into the right-field corner for a triple and the first runs in a 9-2 Reds victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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And just like that, on Aug.