De La Cruz closes in on 30-30, Williamson throws six sharp innings as Reds blank Braves 4-0

ATLANTA (AP) — Elly De La Cruz closed in on a 30-30 season, Brandon Williamson threw six sharp innings and the Cincinnati Reds blanked the NL East champion Atlanta Braves 4-0 on Tuesday night.

De La Cruz got his 29th stolen base in the first inning and opened the scoring with his 29th homer in the third. He tacked on a run-scoring single in the seventh.

Dane Myers and Eugenio Suárez also homered for Cincinnati. It was Suárez's 350th career homer.

Braves slugger Ronald Acuña Jr. left the game in the third after fouling a ball off his left leg. He went down with a big grimace, hobbled out of the batting circle and dropped to his knees again while attended to by manager Walt Weiss and an athletic trainer for several minutes.

X-rays were negative and Acuña was listed as day-to-day, a big relief for the Braves with the playoffs just a week away.

Williamson (5-4) permitted just three hits, with no walks and two strikeouts over his 68-pitch outing. He didn't allow a runner past first base — an unlikely performance from a pitcher who has largely struggled during an injury-plagued season and worked out of the bullpen in his last three appearances for the last-place Reds.

Brock Burke, Tejay Antone and Emilio Pagán worked a scoreless inning apiece to finish the seven-hitter.

De La Cruz hit a two-out shot into the right-field seats on a 2-0 pitch from Braves rookie JR Ritchie (1-4), who took the loss despite allowing just one run while recording a career-best eight strikeouts in five innings.

De La Cruz has a chance in the final week of the regular season to become only the fourth player in Reds history to reach the 30-30 club after Eric Davis (1987), Barry Larkin (1996) and Brandon Phillips (2007).

The Braves clinched their seventh NL East title in nine years on Sunday. They are likely to host a best-of-three series against the lowest-seeded wild card next week.

Atlanta LHP Chris Sale (14-9, 2.18 ERA) is set to make his final start before the playoffs when he goes Wednesday night against Reds LHP Andrew Abbott (6-11, 4.70).

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz (44) steals second base against Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies (1) during the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

Atlanta Braves pitcher JR Ritchie delivers to a Cincinnati Reds batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz (44) jokes with Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies (1) during a replay challenge of De La Cruz's steal of second base in the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Brandon Williamson delivers to an Atlanta Braves batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

NEW YORK (AP) — Three months ago, Andy Green had no aspirations of managing the New York Mets.

Now, he's got a three-year deal in the dugout to produce better days ahead.

In a surprising change of direction, Green went from interim Mets manager to full-time skipper Tuesday when the club gave him a three-year contract. New York made the announcement before starting its final road trip of the season against the Texas Rangers.

“I think Andy is the perfect person for this job,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said at a pregame news conference in Arlington, Texas.

“I think Andy brings to us an ability to connect the organization in ways that very few people could. He allows us to connect front office to dugout. He allows us to connect minor league to major league, and he provides us a level of continuity that we need right now, and a level of stability and belief.”

Green, who managed the San Diego Padres from 2016-19, had been running New York's farm system before taking over as interim manager when Carlos Mendoza was fired in late June. At the time, Green said he wasn't particularly interested in becoming a manager again, citing the desire to keep spending time with his three daughters and saying he viewed his interim role on the bench as more of a responsibility to the club than a personal opportunity.

“At the outset, I wasn’t even entertaining that idea whatsoever,” Green said.

Stearns said Green would return to a front-office role after the season, a stance the executive stuck to even as the last-place Mets (71-85) improved their play on the field and several rookies who rose through the minors under Green such as Carson Benge and Nolan McLean flourished in the big leagues as well.

“Andy has connected with and pushed our players to perform, despite the disappointment of the season,” Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. “Over the last several months he has brought discipline, accountability and positivity to the clubhouse, attributes we were seeking in our next manager.”

And even as the struggling Mets unloaded a bevy of veteran pitchers leading up to the Aug. 3 trade deadline, Green found himself enjoying the steep challenges of his job on the bench and in the clubhouse.

“It was a tough time. It was trade deadline, we weren’t necessarily winning baseball games. There was a lot of conversations that had to be had with players to help walk them through difficult chapters," Green said. "And I started thinking, if I have such a passion for the hard times, I’m looking forward to the good times.”

After he talked things over with his family, Green's wife and teenage daughters encouraged him to pursue managing full-time again if the opportunity arose.

“As time went on, it was just an overwhelming sense of joy and purpose being in the dugout and belief that something within me can help,” Green said. “So it became pretty obvious as time went on.”

Stearns said Green called him during the first week of September and let him know “his passions had changed,” and they were now in the dugout as manager.

“So that got my head spinning a little bit. I digested that over the course of the last couple of weeks. Andy and I have had a number of conversations,” Stearns said.

In the end, the Mets committed to Green and chose not to conduct a full search for a new manager this offseason as Stearns had said they would.

“I think it’s a wise decision, a good decision, and I’m looking forward to the next couple of years,” star shortstop Francisco Lindor said. "He’s made a good impact in the clubhouse.”

“Over the course of the season, it became evident that the next manager of the New York Mets was already in place,” Stearns said in a statement.

Coming into the season, the Mets had lofty expectations for a franchise without a World Series title since 1986. New York opened the season with baseball’s highest payroll at $358 million and was projected to pay an additional $124 million in luxury tax.

But the Mets underperformed early and were beset by injuries to Lindor, Juan Soto and others. They were 34-47 at the midpoint of the season when Mendoza was fired on June 26. The team is 37-38 since Green took over.

“The last three months I think there’s been progress,” he said. “We’ve got more to do.”

The 49-year-old Green, a former major league infielder, went 274-366 as Padres manager and finished with a losing record in all four seasons. Then he spent four seasons as a bench coach with the Chicago Cubs before joining the Mets in 2023 and serving as senior vice president of baseball development.

Now, he becomes the 26th manager in franchise history.

“Certainly when I came down here three months ago, didn’t anticipate this day at all. Wasn’t anything that I was thinking could happen," Green said.

“I think it’s just an indication of where my family has pivoted over the last three months. They’ve seen my passion rise and I think above anything else, it’s right to acknowledge the players in that clubhouse because they’ve rekindled in me a love that I had for being in the dugout."

AP Baseball Writer Stephen Hawkins in Arlington, Texas, contributed to this report.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Andy Green, right, responds to question during a news conference where he was introduced as the New York Mets new manager as President of Baseball Operations David Stearns, left, looks on before a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Stephen Hawkins)

Andy Green smiles as he responds to questions during a news conference where he was introduced as the New York Mets new manager before a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Stephen Hawkins)

New York Mets interim manager Andy Green, left, takes the ball from pitcher Christian Scott during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New York Mets interim manager Andy Green answers questions during a news conference, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)