Elly De La Cruz shines, Reds win 10th straight

Elly De La Cruz homered and finished a triple shy of the cycle and the Cincinnati Reds held off a late rally from the visiting Colorado Rockies for their 10th straight win, 8-6, Tuesday night.

TJ Friedl belted a go-ahead three-run homer and finished with his first career four-hit game for the Reds, who matched their longest win streak since winning 10 in a row in July 2012. The Reds joined the Tampa Bay Rays (13) as the only MLB teams with double-digit win streaks this season.

Cincinnati closer Alexis Diaz allowed a run in the ninth and escaped a bases-loaded jam by striking out Jorge Alfaro to end the game and earn his second save in as many nights and 20th in as many chances this season.

Nolan Jones homered, doubled twice and finished 4-for-4 for the Rockies, who dropped their seventh straight and 17th in 22 games while falling to 2-7 on their 10-game road trip.

Cincinnati starter Ben Lively could only make it through four innings, allowing two runs on just three hits. But the right-hander needed 80 pitches to get through the four frames.

Lively gave way to lefty Alex Young (2-0), who picked up his second win in as many nights by pitching a scoreless fifth inning, allowing just one hit. Young also recorded his first career save in Sunday's 10-inning win in Houston.

Noah Davis (0-2), drafted by the Reds in 2018, started for the ill Kyle Freeland, and was victimized by a lack of control. The right-hander walked four and surrendered the go-ahead homer to Friedl in the second.

Both starting pitchers dealt with a slippery mound caused by the persistent rain and drizzle throughout the first half of the game.

De La Cruz followed his opposite field homer against Davis in the third with an infield hit in the fifth that started a nightmare inning for reliever Peter Lambert. The reliever threw wildly to first, the first of three Lambert throwing errors in the inning that allowed the Reds to add on two more runs and expand the lead to 7-2.

Will Benson added his second homer of the season off Lambert in the sixth for an 8-2 lead.

Alfaro belted a three-run homer against reliever Casey Legumina in the eighth before Diaz closed out the win in the ninth.