INSTANT REACTION: Elly De La Cruz Homers Twice, Reds Rout Royals 7-2

CINCINNATI -- Elly De La Cruz not only homered twice on Tuesday night in the Reds 7-2 win over the Kansas City Royals, he now has three home runs in his last four games.

Tyler Stephenson homered in his second straight game, and his battery mate Brady Singer delivered a strong start in his return to Kansas City Tuesday night.

Most importantly, the Reds are back to .500 at 28-28 and can get over that mark with a sweep of the Royals Wednesday night.

Let's look at the takeaways from Tuesday night's 7-2 Reds win over the Royals.

Takeaways from Reds 7-2 Win Over the Royals Tuesday Night

Elly De La Cruz goes Deep Twice

He didn't just hit two home runs Tuesday night. De La Cruz absolutely mashed the two balls he hit over the wall at Kauffman Stadium. The first ball he hit was to straightaway centerfield, which takes tremendous power. It was a 436-foot home run that tied the game 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning.

Then in the sixth inning, De La Cruz absolutely crushed the ball into the fountain way beyond the right field wall. The 451-foot home run gave the Reds a 3-2 lead, and it was a lead the Reds would not relinquish.

Tuesday night was De La Cruz's second multi-home run game this season. His first came back on March 31st against the Texas Rangers. De La Cruz's performance now gives him 11 home runs and 40 RBIs on the season while raising his batting average to .257.

Tyler Stephenson Joins the Home Run Party for Second Straight Game

The scoring in Tuesday night's game started when Stephenson homered to center field, his second straight game with a long ball.

It's been a struggle for Stephenson in his first month healthy this season, but he may slowly but surely finding his groove at the plate. This Reds lineup is better when Stephenson is hitting, for it provides protection by De La Cruz in the middle of the order.

Brady Singer Goes Deep Into Game in Return to Kansas City

For the second straight game, the Reds starting pitcher went seven innings. Tuesday night, it was Singer pitching deep into the game in his first start in Kansas City since being traded to the Reds back in November.

Singer gave up just two earned runs on seven hits with one walk to thre strikeouts. He threw 99 pitches, with 62 for strikes.

Notes and observations

• Cincinnati went 0-6 with runners in scoring position despite scoring seven runs.
• The top three hitters in the Reds lineup- TJ Fridel, Santiago Espinal and Elly De La Cruz- all had multiple hits in the ball game.
• Tony Santillan and Ian Gibaut needed just a combined 23 pitches over the final two innings.

On deck

The Reds will go for the sweep Wednesday night when they send their ace, Hunter Greene (4-2, 2.54 ERA), to the mound. Greene will be opposed by Royals left-hander Noah Cameron (1-1, 0.93 ERA).

Cameron, a seventh-round pick by the Royals in 2021, made his big-league debut on April 30th when he allowed just one hit in a shutout win at Tampa Bay. He's coming off an eight-strikeout performance at Minnesota last Friday.