CINCINNATI -- It was a do-it-all type of game for Elly De La Cruz, who provided two early RBI hits on Tuesday for the Reds, and then delivered the exclamation point. De La Cruz's two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning sealed what would become a 7-2 win over the Rockies at Great American Ball Park.
Cincinnati has won 10 of its last 13 games, is 19-10 overall and sits atop the National League Central division.
After De La Cruz's bloop single to right field scored the first run, Spencer Steer's two-run home run to left-center field off Kyle Freeland gave Cincinnati a 3-0 first-inning lead.
Over his six innings, Reds starting pitcher Chase Burns gave up two runs and seven hits with one walk and tied a season-high with nine strikeouts. Six of Burns' strikeouts came over the first three innings.
The Reds also played clean, and sometimes exceptional, defense. In the second inning, De La Cruz robbed Kyle Karros of a hit. The shortstop made a beauty of a backhanded grab in the hole and made a one-hop throw across his body for the out.
After Burns retired seven of his first nine batters, Edouard Julien put Colorado on the scoreboard in the third inning by hitting a 1-1 slider to right-center field for a one-out solo homer. The Reds got the run back when De La Cruz's RBI single up the middle scored Dane Myers.
In the fifth inning, Jake McCarthy reached on a bunt single and scored from second base on Julien's RBI single to center field to make it a two-run game again.
The Rockies threatened in the top of the sixth against Burns, who had to work out of trouble. A one-out double by Troy Johnston put runners on second and third as the Reds got their bullpen active. But Burns struck out Kyle Karros with a slider and escaped by getting a fly out to right field by Ezequiel Tovar.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Myers opened with a bunt single to third base. Two batters later against Tanner Gordon and batting lefty, De La Cruz went to the opposite field for a two-run homer over the left-field fence – his 10th of the season.
Cincinnati has hit 12 home runs over its last four games and 39 for the season.
Sal Stewart followed De La Cruz with a double and scored on Nathaniel Lowe's two-out RBI single.