Reds 3, Pirates 2: Elly De La Cruz Forces the Ninth-Inning Winner

Soft grounder, hard score

July 30, 2026 – Cincinnati – Gregory Soto had the bases loaded with one out in the ninth and a 2-2 game on the line. The double-play ball was there. The out at first was not.

A soft grounder to second turned into a fielder's choice that only got one out. Elly De La Cruz scored easily from third. The Cincinnati Reds walked off the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 to open a four-game series.

De La Cruz did not need a walk-off hit. He needed three doubles, two stolen bases, an RBI, and the speed to force a play the Pirates could not finish.

McLain's return and a two-run third

Matt McLain came off the 10-day injured list and led off the third with a single. De La Cruz doubled him home. Sal Stewart singled De La Cruz home. Cincinnati led 2-0 before Pittsburgh had solved the early middle of the Reds order.

That is the version of De La Cruz that wrecks series openers. He does not wait for a three-run homer. He doubles, steals, and keeps the inning alive until someone else has to make a perfect throw.

AthX Engine scored his night at 14 hitting fantasy points, first among all hitters on the Thursday slate. Three doubles and two steals will do that even without a home run in the line.

Lowder settled old business

The last time Rhett Lowder faced Pittsburgh, he lasted 1 1/3 innings and allowed eight earned runs in a 17-7 loss at PNC Park on May 2. Thursday was the rewrite. Six innings. Two earned runs. Zero walks. Five strikeouts.

Nick Gonzales doubled to lead off the fifth and scored on Jacob Gonzalez's sacrifice fly to make it 2-1. Brandon Lowe tied it in the sixth with his 22nd home run. Lowder still left with a quality start and a game Cincinnati could win late.

Yohan Ramírez opened for Pittsburgh with two scoreless innings in his first career start after 208 relief appearances, the most by a Pirates pitcher before a start. The opener worked. The rest of the night did not give Pittsburgh enough runs to hold De La Cruz in the ninth.

Bases loaded twice, almost nothing to show

Both clubs loaded the bases in the seventh and failed to score. The teams combined to go 2-for-22 with runners in scoring position. Cincinnati was 1-for-15. That is how a 2-2 game survives into the ninth on a night full of traffic.

Emilio Pagán earned the win. Soto took the loss after the bases-loaded mess he could not escape. For most of the evening, the Reds looked like a club that would strand its best chances. De La Cruz made sure the last chance did not need a clean hit.

AthX Engine put Cincinnati's star on top of the board

AthX Engine (AthX's projection and scoring system) stacked this game around one hitter and one starter recovery. De La Cruz's 14 hitting FP led the league for the day. Lowder's 14 pitching FP sat sixth among pitchers after six controlled innings.

Cincinnati's team score of 7 FP beat Pittsburgh's 0. The final was one run. The platform board still reflected who manufactured the winning sequence and who kept the game close enough for that sequence to matter.

Fantasy points are a performance record under AthX scoring. Share prices also move with market activity through dynamic pricing. De La Cruz's 14 FP is a daily leader line, not a price target.

Series openers that set a tone

Pittsburgh sends Paul Skenes against Hunter Greene on Friday. That is a different kind of night. Thursday belonged to contact, speed, and a ninth-inning ground ball that never became the double play Soto needed.

The Reds improved to 51-57. The Pirates fell to 55-55. Neither record screams October. Both clubs just watched De La Cruz decide a one-run game without needing the ball to leave the yard.

That is still the scariest version of him.

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*Sources: MLB.com Gameday final, ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*