ST. PETERSBURG -- Finally, the Reds' offense is moving on up. There was really nowhere else to go but up, but the momentum now seems to have some legs.
While winning their fifth consecutive game -- and seven of their last eight -- the Reds pummeled the Rays with five home runs and a 12-6 victory on Tuesday at Tropicana Field. It was the most runs scored this season by a team that's lived largely on its pitching and defense.
“I’m happy for our guys -- and there was some breathing room, and we kind of needed it," manager Terry Francona said. "And that’s OK, it’s nice to spread a game out because we haven’t done that very often.”
Beginning with the ninth inning on Sunday, first-place Cincinnati (16-8) has scored 24 runs over its last 20 innings.
Entering the night, the Reds were last in MLB in average and slugging percentage, 29th in OPS and 26th in runs per game. Most of their offense was produced by Sal Stewart, Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suárez, with the trio combining to slash .268/.351/.518 with 17 homers.
The rest of their hitters were at .171/.268/.237 with five homers.
“A lot of it was just us getting a little unlucky at times and stuff like that. It’s a long season," third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes said. "Once we get hot, it’s going to be scary.”
Although De La Cruz hit two homers and had five RBIs, there was again plenty of offensive diversification one night after eight of the Reds' nine starters notched at least one hit.
“It’s not surprising," center fielder Dane Myers said. "I think we were due for a breakout game and series. We’ve got a good offensive club. Not quite showing yet, but I think more games like that are going to come.”
Batting righty against Rays lefty Steven Matz, De La Cruz's opposite-field two-run homer to right-center field gave the Reds a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning. With two outs in the second inning, Hayes -- who snapped a career-worst 0-for-33 skid on Monday and came in batting .071 -- hit a 1-0 sinker for a solo homer to right field.
“The other day I was like, 'It just feels like to get on, I’ve got to hit it over the fence,'" Hayes said. "It’s been tough. Just been trying to keep grinding and stay positive. Keep trying to put good at-bats up.”
Myers made it back-to-back homers with his full-count drive to the seats in left-center field for a 4-0 lead. He later scored a sixth-inning run with a creative Euro step and dive to avoid a tag at the plate.
Spencer Steer's two-out solo homer to left-center field came in the fifth. In the sixth, four more runs were added on while the Reds batted around. Their runs in that inning included a Matt McLain RBI double to left-center field, and a Stewart two-run single to center to blow the game open.
De La Cruz hit his second homer of the game in the top of the ninth inning off of infielder Ben Williamson, who was in to pitch, to make it a 12-2 game. With the homer -- his first as a right-handed hitter vs. a right-handed pitcher -- De La Cruz has six career multi-homer games, which surpassed Pete Rose for the most multi-homer games by a switch-hitter in Reds history.
A big lead was reduced by a ninth-inning implosion by Reds reliever Kyle Nicolas, who surrendered five walks and four runs.
The entirety of the Reds' win streak has been on the road, where the first-place club is an MLB-best 10-2 this season. Before the game, Reds hitting coach Chris Valaika tried a drill that attempted to get the bats going.
“Batting practice today, Val had them trying to line the ball through the wall and guys ended up hitting the ball out of the ballpark by accident, so I thought that was a really good drill," Francona said.
Over his previous four starts, Reds hitters scored only six runs for Chase Burns. On Tuesday, they supported him and then some. For his part, Burns gave up two runs and four hits over 5 2/3 innings with two walks and eight strikeouts.
Burns, who is 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA in five starts, took a shutout into the sixth inning before Jonathan Aranda hit a two-run homer to right field.
“It’s really easy to pitch with a lead. These guys are amazing. They’re going to keep swinging like that," Burns said. "Gives you a lot of confidence, but at the same time, I’m just going out there and doing my job.”