Elly's Superman impression helps spark historic 24-run rout

BALTIMORE -- On a day when the Reds enjoyed an offensive eruption not seen in a generation, a defensive play perhaps stood out most. Of course, it came from none other than All-Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz.

Actually, the full range of De La Cruz's ability was on display early on during a 24-2 rout of the Orioles in Sunday's series finale at Camden Yards, which secured a series win for the Reds. De La Cruz already had a gasp-inducing diving play, a home run and a stolen base through three innings.

“That was huge. He’s a freak. He’s superhuman," catcher Austin Wynns said of De La Cruz's catch.

The Reds led, 1-0, when Baltimore had a runner on second base and one out in the bottom of the second inning when De La Cruz fully laid out to make a diving catch to his left on Jackson Holliday’s high, soft liner behind the second-base bag.

“It was hard, but it was important. It’s important to make every play in the game," said De La Cruz, who stole second base in the first inning after walking. "I see the ball, and I dove for it.”

The effort by De La Cruz saved a run for pitcher Brent Suter, who raised his arms high in the air in jubilation.

“That was amazing. That was the best play I’ve ever seen, best play I’ve ever been a part of while pitching, especially since I had one of the best views of [it]," said Suter, a reliever who started on a bullpen day and delivered three innings. "It looked like he was Clark Kent up there. It was unbelievable. I couldn’t believe he caught it. And it was a big play at the time.”

“You never overlook those things because in this game, things change on a play sometimes. That was big at the time. A great play," manager Terry Francona said. "You saw Suter’s reaction, that was probably even better.”

A throwing error by third baseman Noelvi Marte on a routine grounder by the next batter, Ramón Urías, made it a 1-1 game. De La Cruz immediately picked up his teammate and led off the top of the third inning by hitting a 1-2 fastball from Morton to right-center field for a homer.

The go-ahead hit was De La Cruz's fifth homer of the season and second in three games. It was also the spark for what came from the Reds over the rest of the afternoon. During a seven-run rally in the third inning for an 8-1 lead, they sent 11 men to the plate and knocked Morton out of the game.

Everything after that was simply gravy.

? Cincinnati scored 24 runs for the fourth time since 1901, with the last time coming at Colorado on May 19, 1999. The team record is 26, which came on June 4, 1911, vs. the Boston Braves.

? The Reds’ 25 hits were also their most since that same game vs. the Rockies, when they collected 28.

? Their 15 hits with runners in scoring position were the most by the Reds since tracking began on that statistic in 1975.

? A new single-game modern franchise record was set as the club reached base 38 times, including 11 walks. The Reds reached 78 times in the series, their most for a three-game set since 1900.

? The rout was such that the Orioles used a pair of position players -- Jorge Mateo and Gary Sánchez -- to pitch the final two innings.

? Every player in the Reds’ starting lineup, plus right fielder Blake Dunn off the bench, notched at least one hit. Wynns matched a franchise record with six hits -- including a three-run homer against Sánchez in the ninth inning.

? Austin Hays and Marte enjoyed four-hit and five-hit afternoons, respectively, with Marte slugging a grand slam off Mateo in the eighth. Hays and Gavin Lux scored four times each.

Although the Reds are 3-3 in their last six games, the club has scored seven or more runs in four of them. It's certainly no coincidence that it's happened after two key members of the lineup -- Hays and Matt McLain -- returned from the injured list on Tuesday.

“Some guys are starting to feel better about themselves, and that’s good," Francona said. "There are some good hitters, and hopefully that will start to carry over a little bit.”

Hays, in particular, has been a boost since coming back from a left calf strain that had him start the season on the IL. He has hits in all six of his games so far, going 12-for-28 (.429).

“When you think guys can do something, you allow them to try to find their time to do it," Francona said. "We scored a bunch a couple of weeks and then didn’t score for a few days, so we’ll turn the page fast. We’ll enjoy today, but we’ll turn it [around] and move on.”

It's almost hard to believe this month started with the Reds enduring a 35-inning scoreless streak, including three consecutive 1-0 losses.

"We’re getting hot and we’re going to stay hot," De La Cruz said.