Bat flips and cycles and streaks, oh my! Cincinnati Reds come back for 12th straight win

It’s easily forgotten these days in the enormous shadows of the Cincinnati Reds’ rookie sensation Elly De La Cruz, Joey Votto’s powerful return, their historic winning streak and the din of sellout crowds at Great American Ball Park this weekend.

But these best-in-the-National League Atlanta Braves in town this weekend swept the Reds out of Atlanta in April during a 1-5 road trip.

“We didn’t forget about that,” catcher Curt Casali said. “It’ll be a great test of where we are exactly, because they kicked our ass earlier in the season. We’re trying to pay ‘em back.”

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Consider Day 1 of that process an exercise in long memories, longer odds and the most thorough, convincing comeback victory of the Reds’ NL-leading 27.

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Trailing by five runs before they batted, thanks to the Braves batting around against Luke Weaver in the top of the first, the Reds rode Votto’s power, De La Cruz’s power-speed combination and almost six innings of bullpen work to come all the way back to beat the Braves 11-10 in the opener of a three-game series.

Votto hit a tying solo home run in the fourth – replete with an epic bat flip – and a go-ahead three-run shot in the fifth in his fourth game back after nearly a year sidelined by a shoulder injury.

But it was De La Cruz – again – who stole the show by doing what manager David Bell all but predicted a week earlier and ending the longest drought in the majors for a team hitting for the cycle.

The rookie who hit a 458-foot home run and was clocked with the highest sprint speed in the game in his first week in the big leagues earlier this month doubled to open a two-run Reds second, hit a two-run homer in the third, singled home a run in the fifth and then tripled to the gap in right-center in the sixth.

It was the Reds’ first cycle since June 2, 1989, by Eric Davis – the former Reds MVP whose No. 44 is the number De La Cruz wears to honor Davis.

Last week Bell predicted the streak might end soon, and suggested De La Cruz and rookie Matt McLain would be the top candidates to do it.

“But there’s a lot of them,” Bell quickly added, “because they can all run.”

Friday’s was the seventh cycle in Reds history and only the second in the last 64 years.

Reds cycles before Friday:

• 1989 (June 2) — Eric Davis (vs. Padres)
• 1959 (May 2) — Frank Robinson (vs. Dodgers)
• 1940 (June 8) — Harry Craft (vs. Dodgers)
• 1915 (July 5, Game 2) — Heinie Groh (vs. Cubs)
• 1894 (Sept. 28) — Tom Parrott (vs. Giants)
• 1890 (Aug. 6) — Long John Reilly (Innocents)

The big night for De La Cruz puts the Kansas City Royals on the clock with MLB’s longest drought. Their last one: George Brett in 1990.

But as big De La Cruz and Votto were on this night, check out the roll that won’t end.

Six days after the Reds racked up the most runs the Houston Astros had allowed this year (10) in a victory, they tagged Atlanta with their season high.

They’re not part of a 12-game winning streak – one of only five in franchise history.

Only two were longer – and both of those happened in the 1800s:

• 14 — 1899 (July 26-Aug. 12), vs. Beaneaters, Giants, Superbas, Colonels, Perfectos
• 13 — 1890 (June 5-19), vs. Alleghenys, Spiders, Colts
• 12 — 2023 (June 10- ), vs. Cardinals, Royals, Astros, Rockies
• 12 — 1957 (April 30-May 12), vs. Phillies, Giants, Pirates, Dodgers, Cubs
• 12 — 1939 (May 16-27), vs. Bees, Phillies, Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals

“We have a lot of confidence in our room right now,” Casali said. “But we’re also well aware that there’s a lot of season left. There’s a lot of baseball left to be played.”