Elly De La Cruz hits 30th homer and Reds rally for 7-6 win over Braves, who lock up NL's No. 3 seed
Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz, left, and Eugenio Suárez (28) celebrate after defeating the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in Atlanta. Credit: AP/Erik S. Lesser
ATLANTA — Elly De La Cruz hit his 30th homer, Héctor Rodríguez and rookie Carlos Jorge also went deep, and the Cincinnati Reds rallied from an early deficit to beat the NL East champion Atlanta Braves 7-6 on Thursday night.
With the loss, Atlanta secured the No. 3 seed for the National League playoffs, behind Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves (93-66) will host a best-of-three Wild Card Series starting Tuesday.
Rodríguez's two-run homer in the sixth inning off AJ Smith-Shawver (0-3) made it 7-6. De La Cruz extended his career high with a shot to right field in the third, and he needs one stolen base for the fourth 30/30 season in Reds history.
Jorge led off the game with his first career homer.
Connor Phillips (2-0), the third of six Cincinnati pitchers, got four outs. Emilio Pagán worked the ninth for his 25th save.
Atlanta scored four runs in the bottom of the first, but Cincinnati quickly rallied against Tyler Mahle. The right-hander gave up five runs in five innings in his final start before the playoffs. It was his worst outing since joining the Braves from San Francisco at the trade deadline. He gave up two runs or fewer in each of his previous eight starts with Atlanta.
Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. returned after missing one game with a bone bruise on his shin, racing around at full speed to score from first on a double in the first inning. He was 2 for 5 with a stolen base.
Cincinnati Reds outfielders Carlos Jorge, left, Héctor Rodríguez, center, and JJ Bleday, right, celebrate after their team defeated the Atlanta Braves in a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Atlanta. Credit: AP/Erik S. Lesser
Reds starter Brady Singer lasted three innings and gave up five runs on seven hits. Austin Riley homered against him in the third.
Up next
Reds: Conclude the season with a three-game series at Toronto. LHP Nick Lodolo (3-6, 5.04 ERA) will oppose Blue Jays RHP José Soriano (12-8, 3.72) on Friday.
Braves: Have not announced a starter for Friday's series opener at Miami. RHP Eury Pérez (7-11, 4.14) starts for the Marlins.
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