De La Cruz powers Reds to 8-1 win to end Phillies' 7-game streak

CINCINNATI (AP) — Elly De La Cruz hit a two-run home run, Christian Encarnacion-Strand went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and the Cincinnati Reds ended the Philadelphia Phillies' seven-game win streak with an 8-1 victory on Tuesday night.

Cincinnati's Santiago Espinal also had three hits including a solo homer in the eighth inning, his first since July 29. Fernando Cruz (1-1) pitched 2/3 of an inning in relief.

The Phillies' seven-game win streak was the franchise's fourth-longest in April. They haven't won eight straight games in April since 1953. The Phillies played without Bryce Harper, who’s expected to return from the paternity list on Thursday.

J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm hit back-to-back doubles in the first for the Phillies' run. Philadelphia's five hits matched a season low.

Encarnacion-Strand's RBI double tied the score in the bottom half.

Phillies' starters have been on a roll, but Christopher Sánchez (1-3) lasted only three innings on Tuesday, allowing five runs, one earned. The Phillies' defense made three errors.

Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas made a leaping catch of Spencer Steer's drive up against the wall in the fourth. Rojas was evaluated by training staff but remained in the game.

The Phillies got two hits through 4 1/3 innings against Andrew Abbott, who was facing them for the second time this month. They had the bases loaded with nobody out in the fifth but couldn't score as Abbott and Cruz combined to end the threat.

De La Cruz's seventh home run of the season to deep left-center field in the fifth extended Cincinnati's lead to 7-1, equaling the total runs allowed by the Phillies in their previous four games. De La Cruz also stole his 12th base, tied for the league lead.

TRAINERS ROOM

Phillies: RHP Taijuan Walker (right shoulder soreness) threw a bullpen session on Tuesday and is expected to make his season debut Sunday in San Diego.

Reds: LHP Sam Moll (left shoulder impingement) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list on Tuesday and RHP Casey Legumina was optioned to Triple-A Louisville. Moll pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

UP NEXT

Phillies right hander Spencer Turnbull (2-0, 1.23) beat the Reds on April 2. Reds left hander Nick Lodolo (2-0, 0.75) is unbeaten in two starts since coming off the IL.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz reacts after hitting a two-run homer in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz hits a two-run homer in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz rounds the bases and celebrates hitting a two-run homer in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz celebrates hitting a two-run homer in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Andrew Abbott throws in the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to begin evacuating, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion could be imminent.

The announcement complicated last-ditch efforts by international mediators, including the director of the CIA, to broker a cease-fire. Hamas and Qatar, a key mediator, have warned that an invasion of Rafah could derail the talks.

Israel has described Rafah as the last significant Hamas stronghold after seven months of war, and its leaders have repeatedly said they need to carry out a ground invasion to defeat the Islamic militant group.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesman, said some 100,000 people were being ordered to move to a nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasi. He said Israel was preparing a “limited scope operation” and would not say whether this was the beginning of a broader invasion of the city. But last October, Israel did not formally announce the launch of a ground invasion that continues to this day.

The move comes a day after Hamas militants carried out a deadly rocket attack from the area that killed three Israeli soldiers.

Shoshani said Israel published a map of the evacuation area, and that orders were being issued through leaflets dropped from the sky, text messages and radio broadcasts.

He said Israel has expanded humanitarian aid into Muwasi, including field hospitals, tents, food and water.

Israel's plan to invade Rafah has raised global alarm because of the potential for harm to more than a million Palestinian civilians sheltering there.

About 1.4 million Palestinians — more than half of Gaza’s population — are jammed into the town and its surroundings. Most of them fled their homes elsewhere in the territory to escape Israel’s onslaught and now face another wrenching move, or the danger of facing the brunt of a new assault. They live in densely packed tent camps, overflowing U.N. shelters or crowded apartments, and are dependent on international aid for food, with sanitation systems and medical facilities infrastructure crippled.

The United States, Israel's closest ally, has repeatedly urged Israel not to carry out the invasion, saying it does not have a credible plan to protect civilians.

But even as the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have pushed for a cease-fire agreement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated last week that the military would move on the town “with or without a deal” to achieve its goal of destroying the Hamas militant group.

On Sunday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed Hamas wasn’t serious about a deal and warned of “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah." His comments came after Hamas attacked Israel’s main crossing point Sunday for delivering assistance, killing three soldiers.

Shoshani would not say whether the upcoming Rafah operation is a response to Sunday's killing. He said the incident would have no effect on the amounts of badly needed aid entering Gaza because other crossing points remain operational.

He wouldn't comment, however, on U.S. warnings not to invade and wasn't clear on whether the evacuation was coordinated with Egypt.

Egypt, a strategic partner of Israel, has said that an Israeli military seizure of the Gaza-Egypt border — which is supposed to be demilitarized — or any move to push Palestinians into Egypt would threaten its four-decade-old peace agreement with Israel.

The Qeshta family is seen in body bags at the morgue of Al Najjar hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 5, 2024. The family was killed in an Israeli bombardment on a residential building in Rafah. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)

A Palestinian woman mourns her relative, 7-month old baby Hani Qeshta, who was killed in an Israeli bombardment on a residential building with Qeshta's family, at the morgue of Al Najjar hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)