The Cincinnati Reds just wrapped up a brutal road trip with a huge series win against the contending Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sunday, August 30. But honestly, that win might feel hollow right now because All-Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz had to leave the game in the seventh inning with “left quad tightness.”
Star Shortstop Status Unclear After Brutal Road Trip
Dude, this whole trip was a total meat-grinder for the Reds, but they somehow pulled out a 7-5 victory in the series finale. They snagged their third win in four games, capping off a 4-5 road trip through Arizona, San Francisco, and Chicago. But all that good momentum? It’s on hold until we get an update on De La Cruz. The guy is one of only two players who’s been consistently awesome for them all season, and his status is totally up in the air as they head home with just 25 games left on the schedule. This is a massive blow if it’s serious.
Burns Bounces Back, Defense Gets Shaky
On the brighter side, thank goodness for rising ace Chase Burns. He seriously delivered on Sunday, bouncing back hard after what was his worst start of the season in San Francisco. Burns, now rocking a 15-3 record with a 2.79 ERA, pitched two outs deep into the sixth inning against one of the best lineups in baseball to grab that victory. He only gave up two earned runs, striking out seven batters and walking just one in his 26th start of his first full season. Yeah, he coughed up a long home run to MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong on a 99-mph 3-2 pitch to kick off the first inning, which was PCA’s fourth homer in two days, by the way. But then Burns just shut down the next three guys. Crow-Armstrong even hit his fifth homer in two days later off Emilio Pagán in the ninth. What a wild series for him! The Reds defense, though? Kinda shaky. They made two errors behind Burns, one costing him an unearned run and another forcing an extra batter. That probably kept him from picking up his 12th quality start this season, which is a bummer.
Franchise Record Power Surge
But let’s talk about the offense for a sec, because they went OFF. The Reds crushed four home runs in that game, setting a franchise record with their twelfth four-homer game of the season! How sick is that? Rookie of the Year favorite Sal Stewart was absolutely crushing it, hitting his third straight game with a homer as the fourth guy to go deep in the game. That kind of power is exactly what you want to see, especially when you’re grinding through tough opponents like the Cubs.
So, the Reds are heading back home with a hard-fought series win and some serious question marks. The team has 25 games left on their schedule, and what happens with Elly De La Cruz is gonna be massive for the rest of their season. Fingers crossed that quad tightness is nothing serious, because they need that All-Star bat in the lineup every single game.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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