KSReds: Cincinnati Reds Sweep Yankees at Yankee Stadium

Get the brooms out, Reds fans. The Cincinnati Reds went into Yankee Stadium and completed a three-game series sweep of the New York Yankees. Despite the Yankees ranking second in Major League Baseball with 124 home runs, it was the Reds who used the long ball to their advantage the most. Cincinnati connected on seven home runs in three games as they won 5-4, 3-2, and 8-4 respectively.

With the sweep, the Reds are now 42-45 on the season and sit four games out of a playoff spot. Oddly enough, their record against the teams with the five best records in baseball is now over .500 at 12-10 overall. Now, a 10-game home stand will take the Reds into the All-Star break. It is make or break time for this ball club.

This three-game set against the Yankees was thought to be the hard part before the 10-game home stand against teams below .500. However, a sweep of the 54-35 Yanks has changed the expectations a bit now. Now, Cincinnati will take on the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, and Miami Marlins who have a combined record of 98-161. If there is a playoff push left in this team they will want to make it right now.

Carson Spiers will pitch game one of the Tigers’ series with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Eastern Time. Hunter Greene and Graham Ashcraft will also start at Great American Ball Park.

Elly De La Cruz Shines as Reds Win at Yankee Stadium

Elly De La Cruz, at the young age of 22, has made his case as the most electric player in Major League Baseball. However, he took it to a new level at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night. On a national stage in New York, De La Cruz tripled to lead off the fourth inning showcasing his breathtaking speed. Jeimer Candelario promptly drove him in with a RBI groundout making it 1-0. Will Benson then added to the fun for the Cincinnati Reds in the fifth belting a two-run home run to dead centerfield. That wouldn’t be the only long ball of the frame though.

De La Cruz, batting from the right side, made it a 5-0 Reds lead with a two-run shot of his own capping off a four run fifth. They would prove to need every single one of those runs, but Cincinnati would hold on to defeat the New York Yankees 5-4.

Graham Ashcraft fought his way through five shutout innings, but then got roughed up a bit to begin the sixth. Aaron Judge singled, Alex Verdugo walked, and then Gleyber Torres got the Yankees on the board with a RBI single. Ashcraft exited the game without recording an out in the sixth, but would be charged with two more runs after Ben Rice doubled off of Nick Martinez making it a 5-3 game.

Aaron Judge blasted a solo home run off of Sam Moll in the seventh, but that would be as close as the Yankees would get. Fernando Cruz shut things down in the eighth and then Alexis Diaz threw a clean ninth inning to record his 18th save. The Cincinnati Reds took the series opener in New York 5-4.

Reds Secure Series Win in New York

Wednesday’s contest followed a similar path to Tuesday night’s game. The Cincinnati Reds built an early advantage, the New York Yankees got it within a run, but the bullpen did their job once again. This time it was Noelvi Marte with the early long ball making it 2-0 Reds in the second inning. Then, Stuart Fairchild hit a solo shot in the fifth making it 3-0. That would prove to be enough, but it got very nerve-racking for the Reds in the seventh.

Andrew Abbott recorded the first out of the seventh inning, but then Jahmai Jones doubled to mark the end of the day for the Reds’ starter. Fernando Cruz walked Jose Trevino before giving up a two-run double to Anthony Volpe that brought the Yankees within one run. A wild pitch advanced Volpe to third and Cruz walked Juan Soto bringing Aaron Judge to the plate with runners at the corners and only one out. However, with the tying run just 90 feet away, Judge grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Lucas Sims, Justin Wilson, and Alexias Diaz finished the game off in the eighth and ninth innings to give the Cincinnati Reds a 3-2 victory that clinched the series win as well. Abbott was strong in his start pitching six and one-third innings allowing just one run on three hits. He is now 8-6 with a 3.28 earned run average on the season. Diaz’s save, his second in as many nights, was his 19th of the year.

SWEEP!!!

The Cincinnati Reds continue to play their best baseball against the best teams. That was certainly true at Yankee Stadium as they completed a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees on Thursday with a convincing 8-4 victory. There was a similar feel to the first two games, but this time around the Reds kept adding insurance runs to keep the game from getting too close.

Nick Martini got the party started on Thursday afternoon with a solo home run in the second inning. Jonathan India followed suit with a solo shot in the third. Then, with two outs in the fifth, Spencer Steer blew the game open with a three run home run that gave Cincinnati a 5-0 advantage. However, just as the Reds experienced on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Yankees weren’t about to just roll over.

Austin Wells and Ben Rice each hit solo home runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 5-2. Former Yankee Frankie Montas was able to get out of the inning though without anymore damage. He exited after five innings allowing those two runs on four total hits. Juan Soto added a two-run home run in the seventh off of Nick Martinez, but that was after Jake Fraley came through in a big way in the top half of the frame. Fraley cleared the bases with a two-out triple which ballooned the lead to 8-2. Then, Soto’s blast set the eventual final score of 8-4. It was an absolutely incredible performance in three straight games by the Cincinnati Reds at Yankee Stadium.