Series Recap: Elly De La Cruz’s Dominant Performance Helps Reds Take Series Over Marlins

Miami, Florida – Elly De La Cruz felt at home at loanDepot Park when the Cincinnati Reds faced the Miami Marlins in a four-game series. The Reds took the series 3-1, but De La Cruz stole the show with a historic and dominant performance. This marks the first series the Marlins have lost since the All-Star break, and it might trend in that direction after their massive fire sale at the trade deadline. Here’s a series recap breaking down each game.

Elly De La Cruz hit 8 balls over 100 mph in the Miami Series

114 (2B)
113.3 (2B)
109.3 (2B)
109 (HR)
108.1 (Single)
108.1 (HR)
108.1 (not a typo)
100.4

Here's some of them

🎥baseball savant pic.twitter.com/6576JWbBt8

— Claiborne Snowden (@Clay_sno) August 9, 2024

Game 1: The Reds opened the series with a blowout 10-3 victory. De La Cruz spearheaded Cincinnati’s offense, achieving a historic feat with four extra-base hits, including two home runs. This made him the youngest Reds player to record that stat line since 1901. De La Cruz’s performance helped the Reds overcome what could have been the talk of the night. In the bottom of the sixth, Jesus Sanchez launched a long 480-foot home run to right-center field, marking the longest home run this season in major league baseball.

WOW!

Jesús Sánchez just hit the longest home run by any player in baseball in 2024.

480 feet. pic.twitter.com/fVT0H6Wxko

— Marlins Radio Network (@MarlinsRadio) August 6, 2024

Game 2: Cincinnati breezed to another victory, winning 8-2. Elly De La Cruz picked up where he left off the night before and collected four hits again. Again, he was the catalyst on offense, going 4-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. De La Cruz etched his name in the Reds’ history books for the second night. His four-hit performance in game two marked the first time a Reds player had four hits in back-to-back games since 2001. De La Cruz’s bat and Reds’ starter Nick Lodolo, six-inning seven strikeouts outing led Cincinnati to take a 2-0 series lead.

Elly De La Idk What Else To Even Say This Man Is Unbelievable @ellylacocoa18 pic.twitter.com/lnS7AznUv6

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 6, 2024

Game 3: The Marlins got in the win column in game three of this series, securing a 6-4 win. Miami put up five runs in the bottom of the first off Reds’ starter, Andrew Abbot, thanks to newcomer Derek Hill. Hill delivered the biggest hit in his brief Marlins tenure with a grand slam to give Miami an early 4-0 lead. Cincinnati responded with a four-run rally in the seventh inning, but Miami’s bullpen held on in the eighth and ninth. With All-Star closer Tanner Scott traded to San Diego, Calvin Faucher has been tasked with the ninth and recorded his second save of the season.

Derek Hill has certainly made an early impact with his new club

His first home run as a member of the Marlins is a grand slam. It's the third grand slam by a Marlins player this season.#Marlins lead, 5-0 pic.twitter.com/iHxEFyjLQu

— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) August 7, 2024

Game 4: In the series finale, the Reds sealed the win with another blowout, 10-4. The final score might be deceiving as this game was tied 3-3 from the fourth inning through the ninth. Marlins’ starter, Kyle Tyler, struggled through 4 1/3 innings, walking two batters and giving up three runs. If Miami wanted to even up the series, they would have to face All-Star pitcher Hunter Greene. Trailing 3-0, the Marlins finally got to Greene in the bottom fourth and rallied for three runs to tie the game.

Jhonny Pereda ties the game up in Miami!

It's his first career RBI! pic.twitter.com/y0s3nuOTRU

— Marlins Radio Network (@MarlinsRadio) August 8, 2024

The offense stayed quiet on both sides, thanks partly to excellent relief pitching by the Marlins’ bullpen until the game reached extra innings. Emmanuel Ramirez was the new reliever for Miami in the tenth, and he struggled mightily. He could not record a single out in the inning, so he walked two batters. The Reds teed off him, recording seven hits and seven runs, six earned.

Miami scratched a run in their last at-bats, but Ramirez’s meltdown was too much to overcome. One of the few highlights of that game for Miami was catcher Jhonny Pereda collecting his first major league hit and RBI off Hunter Greene. After playing in the minor leagues since 2013, Pereda will finally have a chance to play in the big leagues on a somewhat consistent basis, thanks to Miami overhauling their entire roster at the trade deadline.

Marlins catcher Jhonny Pereda holding his first hit in the big leagues. Pereda has been in the minor leagues since 2013 and tonight he collected his first MLB hit and RBI off of All Star Hunter Greene. Congratulations 👏 @LemonCityLive pic.twitter.com/D2kLm7rFeK

— Alex “Milo” Aguirre (@aguirrethecap33) August 9, 2024

The result of this series is what many Marlins fans would expect after the front office slowly gutted this roster from the first day of the season to the trade deadline. Overall, Elly De La Cruz’s exceptional performance propelled the Reds to a series victory, showcasing his ability to impact games with his power, hitting, and speed on the bases. Miami wraps up this homestand with a three-game series against the San Diego Padres as they welcome former Marlin Luis Arraez into town.