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Reds’ Elly De La Cruz torments Tyler Glasnow, Dodgers

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LOS ANGELES — No matter what the Dodgers did, they couldn’t stop Elly De La Cruz.

De La Cruz went 4 for 4 with a double, three runs scored and a career-high four stolen bases to propel the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-2 victory over the Dodgers on Thursday night. The Reds’ 22-year-old wunderkind became the first player to steal four bases in a game against the Dodgers since 2009.

The Dodgers were merely De La Cruz’s latest victim – he now leads MLB with 30 stolen bases in just 44 games this season, just the sixth player since 1901 to swipe that many that fast (Rickey Henderson did it three times).

“You try to keep guys like that off the bases,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And if you can’t, then you’re sort of on your heels, and that’s kind of what happened tonight.”

With the notoriously slow-to-the-plate Tyler Glasnow on the mound for the Dodgers, De La Cruz ran wild. He singled and stole second base in the first inning, doubled and stole third base in the third inning and, in the fifth inning, drew a two-out walk and immediately stole both second and third base. All four of his stolen bases came with Glasnow on the mound. He came around to score each time.

“I think all the pitches I threw to him were bad,” Glasnow said. “And then on the basepaths, obviously, just me not being quick holding runners, he’s extremely fast. He’s a good baserunner.”

The Dodgers finally got a small measure of revenge in the seventh. De La Cruz poked a single into right field off reliever Nick Ramirez and promptly attempted his fifth steal of the night, but Austin Barnes fired a perfect bullet to second base to finally throw De La Cruz out.

That was the only time the Dodgers would get the best of De La Cruz. The electrifying speedster reached base in all five of his plate appearances with three singles, a double and a walk and capped the scoring with an RBI infield single in the ninth.

“He’s a really good player,” said Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, whose bobblehead night was spoiled by the loss. “I do believe that the team really rallied around him today. A very impressive performance tonight.”

Glasnow struggled with more than just De La Cruz. Facing a Reds’ offense that entered batting a National League-worst .218, Glasnow surrendered four runs on six hits over five innings and allowed hard contact from the outset.

Will Benson led off the game with a titanic home run that traveled 439 feet into the right field pavilion to give the Reds an immediate 1-0 lead. De La Cruz followed with a hard single into center that left his bat at 100.5 mph. Mike Ford lifted a towering fly ball to center. After Glasnow struck out Spencer Steer, Tyler Stephenson ripped an RBI double into the left field corner to score De La Cruz and give the Reds a 2-0 lead.

In all, four of the Reds’ first five batters hit balls with exit velocities of at least 100 mph off of Glasnow.

“Just not a lot of rhythm, just kind of stiff today,” Glasnow said. “… Just today, things were not where they were at (previously).”

While De La Cruz and the Reds tormented Glasnow, the Dodgers’ lineup went dormant against the Reds’ bullpen game. With Max Muncy and Will Smith getting the night off, the Dodgers managed just four hits against seven Reds relievers. They avoided a shutout by the thinnest of margins when Gavin Lux stroked a two-run single with two outs in the ninth, long after the outcome was decided.

Other than that, the Dodgers came up empty. Reds pitchers retired 14 consecutive Dodgers at one point in a stretch that spanned from the fourth through eighth innings.

Nick Martinez, who long tormented the Dodgers as a member of the San Diego Padres’ pitching staff, picked up the win with five scoreless innings of relief as the Reds’ bulk reliever.

“They sort of just mixed and matched with the bullpen game,” Roberts said. “I mean, they got through two innings doing that and (we) really didn’t have an answer tonight for Nick Martinez and didn’t really threaten.”

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Kyle Glaser

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Reds’ Elly De La Cruz torments Tyler Glasnow, Dodgers