Elly De La Cruz went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs and Julian Aguiar delivered a quality start to help the visiting Cincinnati Reds to a 10-2 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.
Aguiar (1-0) allowed two runs on three hits and struck out four in six innings for his first major league win in his second career appearance. He walked two.
After struggling in the first inning, Pirates starter Jake Woodford (0-6) got into more trouble in the fourth and couldn’t recover.
Dominic Smith led off the fourth with a double and, after advancing to third on a flyout, made it 5-2 Cincinnati by scoring on a single from Will Benson. Jonathan India then smacked a base hit to right field and De La Cruz brought home Benson with another single for a 6-2 advantage, ending Woodford’s outing.
Woodford yielded eight runs (seven earned) and seven hits in his 3 1/3 innings. He walked three and fanned three.
Right-hander Hunter Stratton took over for Woodford, and a wild pitch on an 0-2 count against Tyler Stephenson allowed India and De La Cruz to score and extend the Reds’ lead to 8-2. Stratton was injured on the play after he ran to the wall behind home plate to try and get the ball, and he had to be carted off the field.
Cincinnati added two more runs in the sixth to go ahead 10-2. India knocked a two-out single to right-center field and advanced to second on the play on a fielding error by right fielder Bryan De La Cruz. Elly De La Cruz drove in India with a double and scored when Stephenson connected for a single.
In the first, the Reds took advantage of Woodford’s shaky start to build a 4-0 lead.
Elly De La Cruz and Stephenson each drew a one-out walk, and TJ Friedl drove in Elly De La Cruz with a single. Spencer Steer then doubled to left field, scoring Stephenson and Friedl. After Steer stole third, Ty France followed with a sacrifice fly to bring him home.
The Pirates cut their deficit in half in the second. Joey Bart walked to lead off the inning, and Rowdy Tellez then crushed a sinker for a two-run homer to make it 4-2.