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.
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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)
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).
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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)
