Rockies strive to do the difficult: Stop Reds' Elly De La Cruz

Cincinnati's Elly De La Cruz will look to continue his historic start to the season when the Reds host the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night in the second game of a three-game series.

The star shortstop had a pair of clutch defensive plays to go with his 3-for-4 night at the plate on Monday. De La Cruz homered and drove in four runs in Cincinnati's 7-2 victory.

The homer was the 10th for De La Cruz, who became the first major leaguer since 1900 with at least 10 home runs and at least eight stolen bases before May.

De La Cruz has stolen his eight bases in 10 attempts. His 10 homers are tied for most by any major league switch-hitter before May since 1900, as he joined Seattle's Cal Raleigh (2025), Oakland's Nick Swisher (2006), and Houston's Lance Berkman in 2002 and 2006.

Defensively, De La Cruz made a spectacular throw across his body from deep in the hole to throw out Kyle Karros by a half-step in the second inning Tuesday and started a key double play on a bad-hop grounder hit by Hunter Goodman to end the seventh inning.

"The win. That's the best part. That's the best part," De La Cruz said after the game. "You play to win. We come with the same mentality every day. We're just trying to win."

The Reds have won eight of their past 10 games to remain in first place in the National League Central.

Cincinnati will send left-hander Brandon Williamson (2-2, 5.40 ERA) to the mound on Wednesday. He has struggled with command recently, issuing 14 walks in 20 1/3 innings in April.

Williamson often has labored to put batters away and failed to pitch deep into games. He has not exceeded 5 1/3 innings in four of his five starts. Williamson will try to improve on his most recent outing, when he allowed five runs on seven hits last Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays in a 6-1 loss.

Williamson's spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy as another left-hander, Nick Lodolo, prepares to make his 2026 season debut. Lodolo has been sidelined since beginning the season with a blister on his left index finger.

He has started twice against the Rockies in his career and has a 3.38 ERA and 11 strikeouts with no decisions.

Colorado will counter with right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano (2-1, 3.42 ERA), making his sixth start of the season, third on the road and first career start against Cincinnati. Sugano has allowed two or fewer runs in four of his five starts.

In his most recent outing against the San Diego Padres last Wednesday, Sugano earned the win after allowing just one run over 5 2/3 innings in an 8-3 victory, marking the first time this season he did not surrender a home run. With Kyle Freeland coming off the injured list and starting on Tuesday, Sugano is pitching on a full week of rest.

The Rockies squandered several scoring opportunities on Tuesday, stranding 10 runners and going just 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position as their three-game winning streak ended.

"Bunch of runners on base. Situational baseball not good," Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer lamented. "Runner on third base, less than two outs, 0-for-3. Plenty of chances, boys kept going, but just didn't get the job done when it was needed."

Mickey Moniak leads the Rockies with eight home runs and is slugging .655, while Edouard Julien was 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs in Tuesday's loss.

--Field Level Media