ST. LOUIS — — A day after Elly De La Cruzjokingly dubbed himself “the fastest man in the world,” the rookie backed it up in the series finale with St. Louis.
De La Cruz flashed his speed, getting two hits, reaching base four times and scoring the go-ahead run with a headfirst slide on an eighth-inning grounder that sparked the Cincinnati Reds over the Cardinals 4-3 on Sunday.
In the eighth, De La Cruz walked on a full-count offering from Jordan Hicks (1-4) leading off, advanced on Spencer Steer‘s groundout and took third on Willson Contreras‘ passed ball.
With the infield in, Stephenson hit a two-hopper to Paul DeJong, and the shortstop’s throw was slightly up the first-base line and in the dirt. The ball bounced off Contreras’ mitt as the catcher tried for a swipe tag, and De La Cruz slapped the plate with his left hand.
Adam Wainwright worked 5 2/3 innings giving up three runs on eight hits.
LHP Matthew Liberatore (1-2, 6.00) will face San Francisco’s RHP Logan Webb (4-6, 3.09) on Monday, 5:50 with the pregame and the first pitch at 6:45 on KIRX.