Elly De La Cruz homers again as the Reds pound the White Sox 11-1

CHICAGO (AP) — Elly De La Cruz hit a three-run drive for his fourth homer in his last four games, helping Andrew Abbott and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago White Sox 11-1 on Friday night.

Tyler Stephenson also homered for Cincinnati, which had dropped three of four. Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Santiago Espinal each had two hits and three RBIs, and Jonathan India walked four times from the leadoff spot.

Abbott (1-1) pitched seven innings of one-run ball in Cincinnati’s longest start so far this season. The left-hander struck out three and walked none.

“I was able to get ahead of guys. I was able to get in. I was able to execute off-speed,” Abbott said. “Just probably the best collective effort in a game I’ve had this year to this point.”

Chicago finished with four hits in its seventh loss in eight games. It has scored just 30 runs during its 2-11 start.

Robbie Grossman doubled home Zach Remillard in the third to account for the team’s only run in the opener of a six-game homestand. Chris Flexen (0-3) was tagged for six runs and seven hits in 2 2/3 innings in his third consecutive loss.

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“Terrible. I put us in a hole early, put the bullpen in a really bad situation,” Flexen said. “Nothing to be happy about today.”

De La Cruz singled in the second to reach safely for the 18th consecutive game dating to last season. Batting in the third with runners on first and second, he drove an 0-2 pitch from Flexen deep to right-center for a 449-foot shot.

It was De La Cruz’s fourth homer of the season. He hit an inside-the-park homer and a 450-foot drive during a 10-8 victory over Milwaukee on Monday, and then went deep again in a 7-2 loss to the Brewers on Wednesday.

“I got the same mentality,” De La Cruz said. “I’m just looking for my pitch. I’m seeing the ball well.”

Stephenson followed De La Cruz’s drive against the White Sox with his first homer, lifting Cincinnati to a 6-0 lead.

Jake Fraley had two of the Reds’ 12 hits, including a run-scoring single. He also robbed Paul DeJong of extra bases with a leaping grab against the wall in right for the final out of the second.

“He went a long way for it, went into the fence pretty hard,” Cincinnati manager David Bell said. “He’s fine. He got his hip a little bit, but yeah, I mean those plays make a big difference.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: INF Jeimer Candelario got the day off. He hit .152 (7 for 46) while starting Cincinnati’s first 12 games.

White Sox: OF Eloy Jiménez (left adductor strain) is going to ramp up his workouts this weekend. “We want to get him between 85 and 90 percent and then assess it again and see what we want to do,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “But he’s getting really close.” ... 3B Yoán Moncada (left adductor strain) was transferred to the 60-day injured list as part of a flurry of moves. INF Zach Remillard and RHP Justin Anderson were promoted from Triple-A Charlotte, and OF Oscar Colás was sent down. Veteran reliever Bryan Shaw was designated for assignment.

UP NEXT

Left-handers Nick Lodolo and Garrett Crochet take the mound Saturday. Lodolo is making his first start of the season for Cincinnati. He is coming back from a left calf injury. Crochet (1-1, 2.00 ERA) pitched five innings of two-run ball in Chicago’s 5-3 loss at Kansas City on Sunday.

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