Reds shut out Braves behind Elly De La Cruz's homer

Cincinnati beat Atlanta 4-0 on Tuesday at Truist Park, pairing three home runs with a clean pitching performance to keep the Braves off the scoreboard. Elly De La Cruz homered in the third and later singled home Matt McLain, while Brandon Williamson and three relievers held Atlanta to seven hits.

De La Cruz started the scoring with a line-drive homer to right in the third inning, his 29th of the season. Dane Myers followed with a solo shot in the sixth, and Cincinnati led 2-0. De La Cruz then reached on a ground ball in the seventh, with the ball deflecting off shortstop Ha-Seong Kim and allowing McLain to score.

Eugenio Suárez completed Cincinnati's home-run sequence with a solo drive in the eighth. The Reds finished with 10 hits, including two each from De La Cruz and JJ Bleday. De La Cruz went 2-for-3 with two walks, two runs and two RBIs.

Williamson worked six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks. He struck out two and handed the game to Cincinnati's bullpen, which finished the shutout without allowing a run. Atlanta's JR Ritchie struck out eight in five innings, but he allowed four hits and one run.

Michael Harris II and Drake Baldwin each had two hits for Atlanta, yet the Braves could not turn those baserunners into a scoring threat. Cincinnati's defense and bullpen kept the shutout intact through the final three innings, and Atlanta went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

The Reds' offense spread its damage across three home-run swings and one seventh-inning single. De La Cruz supplied the loudest individual night, but the result was shaped by Williamson's control and a bullpen that protected a four-run lead from the seventh inning forward.

Williamson gave the bullpen a clean handoff after six innings and kept Atlanta from finding an early response.