Elly De La Cruz, Reds take another shot at Dodgers

Cincinnati Reds rookie sensation Elly De La Cruz will come full circle when he visits Los Angeles for the start of his team's three-game series Friday against the Dodgers.

De La Cruz burst on the scene in a June 6 home game against the Dodgers, collecting a double and a run in his debut. One day later, the third baseman hit his first home run, and in the third game of the series he had a hit and a stolen base. The Reds won two of three in that series.

In retrospect, all of what the 21-year-old De La Cruz has to offer was on display in those first three games, from power to speed, defense and the ability to stir up excitement. Now comes a chance to show it off at Los Angeles.

"(It's) pretty awesome to see just the caliber player that he is and how he keeps growing and building," Reds pitcher Graham Ashcraft said. "He's so young. After a year or two in the league, just to see the player that he's going to become, it's going to be exciting to watch and to be a part of."

De La Cruz heads into the game against the first-place Dodgers batting .264 with a .753 OPS, six home runs and 19 RBIs. He also has 17 stolen bases in 21 attempts, making him tied for 13th in the National League in just 43 games.

The Reds will send left-hander Brandon Williamson (2-2, 4.60 ERA) to the mound Friday. Williamson picked up the win for the first time in six starts Saturday when he gave up one run on three hits over six innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In four July starts, Williamson has a 1-1 record and 2.25 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 20 innings. The worst of the rookie's 12 career starts came June 7 against the Dodgers when he gave up six runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. He allowed three home runs, including one to Mookie Betts.

The Dodgers enter the series after losing two of three at home against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Right-hander Bobby Miller (6-1, 4.28) will take the mound for Los Angeles for a matchup of rookies. After an impressive start to his career, Miller hit a rough patch in June but has won three of his last four starts and is 2-0 in three July outings after giving up three runs in six innings against the Texas Rangers on Saturday.

Miller did not face the Reds at Cincinnati in June.

Offense led the Dodgers' charge when they went 6-3 on a three-city road trip to open the second half, but their run-scoring abilities were nearly non-existent in Wednesday's 8-1 loss to the Blue Jays.

Dodgers All-Star Freddie Freeman did his best to keep the disappointing day in perspective.

"As a player, you're going to go through your valleys and you try to keep them short," said Freeman, who is batting .460 with four home runs over his last nine games. "As a team, you're going to go through them, too. As long as we can keep it short and get it going again, it's going to happen. You have to give credit to those guys."

The Dodgers have already made roster adjustments in advance of next week's trade deadline, re-acquiring utility man Enrique Hernandez in a deal with the Boston Red Sox and landing shortstop Amed Rosario from the Cleveland Guardians.

Hernandez started at second base Wednesday in his first game with the Dodgers since 2020 and went 2-for-4.