Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds

As Monday's 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline creeps closer, there are lots of questions surrounding the Reds about who might stay and who might go. That drama doesn't really extend to shortstop Elly De La Cruz, the superstar who isn't expected to be dealt even if there's a sell off of some sort. On the other hand, Nathaniel Lowe is a veteran lefty slugger on an expiring contract with a situation that is less firm. In Thursday’s 3-2 Reds win over the Pirates, the two players were the key to a victory during the four-game series opener at Great American Ball Park. In the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded, Lowe beat out a potential inning-ending double play as De La Cruz scored from third base for the walk-off win. “Well, I know that today I got a couple of at-bats to help the Reds win. Tomorrow, I’m hopefully going to get more at-bats to help the Reds win," said Lowe, who also hit a double in the second inning. "And if another team wants me to play for them, then if it happens, it happens. But if not, we’re going to push as hard as we can here to make something great happen.” Meanwhile, De La Cruz led Cincinnati with three doubles while reaching safely four times. He also stole two bases. He became the first Reds player with three or more extra-base hits and multiple steals in a game since the modern stolen base rule was adopted in 1898. But he was the second MLB player to do it in the last week, joining Ryan Kreidler of the Twins on July 26. Before that, it hadn’t happened since Shohei Ohtani did it for the Dodgers as part of his historic performance on Sept. 19, 2024.