Postgame Takeaways: Elly De La Cruz Homers, Reds Fall to Royals 11-8

De La Cruz continues to impress this spring.

Mar 4, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Cincinnati Reds fell to the Kansas City Royals 11-8 at Goodyear Ballpark on Thursday afternoon.

Here are our postgame takeaways:

De La Cruz Leads Reds' Offense to Big Day

In the bottom of the first, with Matt McLain on base, Elly De La Cruz hit his fourth home run of the spring. The ball came off the bat at 112.4 mph.

In the fourth, Jose Trevino singled home Jeimer Candelario and Christian Encarnacion-Strand to give Cincinnati a 4-2 lead. The Reds' catcher is hitting just .161 this spring.

The Reds got two more runs in the fifth when Austin Hays doubled home De La Cruz and Candelario followed with an RBI single.

Blake Dunn, who is competing for one of the final roster spots, improved his case in the seventh inning with an RBI triple that scored Austin Callahan and gave the Reds a five-run advantage. Then, in the ninth, Dunn added a solo home run.

Bullpen Graham Ashcraft?

After it was announced that Andrew Abbott would start the season on the injured list and Carson Spiers would be the Reds' fifth starter, Graham Ashcraft came out of the bullpen to throw three scoreless innings on Thursday.

The right-hander struck out two, walked a batter, and did not allow a hit.

Royals' Big Inning

Kansas City sent 14 batters to the plate and scored nine runs off of Bryan Shaw and John Murphy in the eighth inning to take an 11-7 lead. Shaw left the game with a trainer.

News and Notes

• Elly De La Cruz went 2-3 and is hitting .410 this spring.
• The Royals scored two runs off of Scott Barlow in the fourth inning.
• Brent Suter, Emilio Pagan, and Joe La Sorsa all added scoreless outings.
• La Sorsa has still yet to allow a run this spring.
• Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit two balls over 100 mph.

Up Next

The Reds have split-squad games against the Chicago White and Seattle Mariners on Friday afternoon. Hunter Greene and Brady Singer will start for the Reds.

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