On a normal night, the talk of the recap would be the fact that the Reds returned from the injured list an important piece to an already potent rotation in Andrew Abbott, who threw 5 solid innings en route to a 5-2 Reds victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. However, with an offense that is still struggling to find its form, we’re talking about Elly De La Cruz. Because without Elly’s 107.8 mph grand slam to left, the Reds very well may not have won this game.
In the bottom of the 3rd, with Santiago Espinal standing on 2nd base with 2 outs, the Reds benefited from two straight hit-by-pitches to TJ Friedl and Blake Dunn.