Reds mark top prospect Elly De La Cruz's debut with comeback win - ESPN

CINCINNATI — Matt McLain's single to deep center field highlighted a three-run comeback in the ninth inning, helping to make top prospect Elly De La Cruz's highly anticipated debut for the Cincinnati Reds a winning one Tuesday night in a 9-8 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Trailing 8-6 with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Cincinnati loaded the bases against reliever Caleb Ferguson. Ferguson walked Curt Casali, scoring Spencer Steer and cutting the deficit to a run. Jake Fraley was hit by a pitch, scoring T.J. Hopkins and tying the game at 8.

Ferguson (3-1) was pulled for Shelby Miller. McLain then singled over the head of Jason Heyward in center field to score Stuart Fairchild and snap Cincinnati's nine-game losing streak against the Dodgers.

De La Cruz embraced McLain after the game.

«I told him, 'I told you,'» De La Cruz said, recalling what he told McLain in that moment. «I told him before he hit the walk-off, I said, 'Hey, you're going to hit a walk-off.' I said, 'I told you, man.'»

McLain finished with three singles for the Reds (28-33), who hadn't beaten Los Angeles (35-26) since Sept. 17, 2021. Eduardo Salazar (1-0) earned the win, striking out two in an inning of relief.

Before Tuesday, the Dodgers had won 118 straight games when leading by five or more runs at any point, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

«We kept playing through all nine innings,» McLain said. «The fans were in it, all nine. Obviously, Elly was making his debut. It was cool.»

De La Cruz, who was named baseball's top prospect by ESPN's Kiley McDaniel in his updated rankings last month, made his major league debut. The 21-year-old batted cleanup and finished 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and a run scored. The double had