Rece Hinds hit a towering home run in his MLB debut as the Cincinnati Reds blanked the visiting Colorado Rockies 6-0 on Monday night.
Elly De La Cruz went 2-for-3 with an RBI double one day after earning his first career All-Star selection. He also stole two bases and scored twice. Hinds, recalled from Triple-A Louisville with Cincinnati down three outfielders due to injury, also went 2-for-3 batting eighth and crushed a 449-foot solo home run to give the Reds a 3-0 lead in the eighth inning.
Left-hander Andrew Abbott (9-6) tossed seven shutout innings as Cincinnati snapped a three-game skid. Abbott allowed just three hits and walked two while striking out eight as only two Rockies reached second base.
It was the second time in three days that a Reds starter pitched seven scoreless frames but left with only a two-run lead. On Saturday, the bullpen could not protect the lead as Fernando Cruz and Sam Moll were tagged for five runs in the eighth in a 5-3 loss to then Detroit Tigers.
Neither Abbott nor Colorado starter Ryan Feltner (1-8) allowed a hit over the first three innings before Charlie Blackmon opened the fourth with a single off Abbott.
Cincinnati broke through in Monday’s game in the fourth inning against Feltner when De La Cruz and Jeimer Candelario opened with singles. Feltner, charged with two runs – one earned – and four hits over seven innings, then walked Spencer Steer to load the bases with nobody out.
Tyler Stephenson grounded into a double play that scored De La Cruz for the first run. The Rockies promptly gave away a second run when catcher Elias Diaz lazily tossed the ball over Feltner’s head as he pitched to Edwin Rios. The ball landed behind Feltner as Candelario raced home for a 2-0 lead. Rios later struck out to end the inning.
On the one-year anniversary of swiping second, third and home in the same inning against Milwaukee, De La Cruz nearly did it again on Monday after reaching on a walk in the first.
He easily stole second and swiped third as Candelario fanned for the second out. After Steer walked to put runners on the corners, De La Cruz broke for home on a double steal attempt but was thrown out by second baseman Brendan Rodgers.
De La Cruz flashed his speed in the Reds’ four-run eighth when he scored on a close play at the plate following a comebacker to the mound.