Elly De La Cruz went 0 for 4 and struck out once, yet on his shoulders the fate of the Cincinnati Reds did not rest this particular evening. In fact, for as talented as the Reds latest rookie call-up is, it’s beginning to look like there’s a whole pile of heavy-lifting ability surrounding him even if none of them really knew it before the start of April.
Matt McLain socked a 3-run homer, legged out an infield single with blazing speed, scored from 1B on a Jonathan India hit into shallow LF that took the kind of ballsy read you’d only expect from a seasoned vet, and took home tonight’s Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game award as the Reds blasted their way past the Kansas City Royals 7-4 to sweep the series.