SAN DIEGO (AP) — Elly De La Cruz’s 443-foot home run into the bullpen sent a few Padres relievers scrambling out of the way, and Nick Lodolo combined with two relievers on a four-hitter and struck out 11 as the Cincinnati Reds beat San Diego 5-2 on Monday night.
The Reds retired 23 straight batters from the second inning into the ninth and had a combined one-hitter going into the final frame.
Lodolo (3-0) retired his final 18 batters after issuing consecutive walks to open the second inning. Fernando Cruz pitched a perfect eighth and Alex Díaz retired the first two batters of the ninth before Jake Cronenworth doubled and scored on Manny Machado’s single. Xander Bogaerts singled before Ha-Seong Kim struck out.
If Cronenworth hadn’t gotten the hit, it would have been the first time in Padres history that a leadoff homer was their only hit.