Cincinnati Reds blast their way past Tampa Bay Rays, 7-2

A vital win with the trade deadline just days away.

TJ Friedl honked a mighty 2-run dinger in the Bottom of the 6th inning to lead the Cincinnati Reds past the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 7-2 on Friday in Great American Ball Park.

It was a win of the come-from-behind variety, one that featured a brilliant 4th inning rally (that included a pair of successful bunt singles down the 3B line), Elly De La Cruz had a 4-hit night (including a pair of doubles), and Tyler Stephenson added a solo homer of his own over the RF wall on a night where the Reds truly showed - and leaned on - the burgeoning depth within their lineup.

Stephenson drove in a trio of runs overall on a 2 for 5 night, while Austin Hays chipped in with a 3 for 5 night that included a pair of runs scored. Noelvi Marte, meanwhile, went 2 for 4 with a run scored and a ribbie from the #9 spot in the lineup, while Nick Martinez (5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K on 93 pitches) did just enough from the starting spot to hand it off to a collectively excellent bullpen effort.

The win pushed the Reds back to 4-games over the .500 mark as the July 31st trade deadline now sits less than a week away. Big names have already begun to move - Josh Naylor was dealt from Arizona to Seattle last night, while Colorado’s Ryan McMahon was shipped to the Yankees this afternoon - and rumors suggest that Cincinnati still has a few irons in the fire trying to upgrade this roster if they can just keep winning enough to make that relevant.

Friday night against Tampa was an excellent first step as they begin this season-defining homestand. Saturday evening at 6:40 PM ET, they’ll have their next chance to play add-on, with emerging ace Andrew Abbott on the mound to boot.

Go Reds!

Tony Graphanino

Box Score & WPA chart courtesy of FanGraphs

Other Notes

• Tonight marked the 8th 4-hit game of Elly’s young career, which is the 3rd most by any Reds hitter through the age of 23 (h/t Matt Wilkes on Bluesky).
• Arizona hasn’t yet traded Eugenio Suarez, which mean’s he’s almost a billion percent sure to get traded to the Reds. Might as well go ahead and do that tomorrow to give him an extra 5 games with the club before free agency!
• Tunes.