De La Cruz's first big league grand slam keys Reds to 8-4 win over Twins

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Elly De La Cruz hit his first big league grand slam in a six-run seventh inning, and the Cincinnati Reds beat Minnesota Twins 8-4 on Friday night.

Minnesota (78-69) lost for the seventh time in 10 games. Its lead over Detroit for the final AL wild card was cut to 2 1/2 games.

“You give up all those runs on one swing, that’s going to be hard,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We have a couple weeks left and we need to play solid baseball. ”

TJ Friedl drove in the Reds' first two runs with a second-inning home run and a squeeze bunt single in the seventh off Bailey Ober (12-7) that put Cincinnati ahead 2-1. Ty France hit an RBI double and De La Cruz followed with his 24th home run, his second since Aug. 21.

De La Cruz stood at the plate and held his bat high, watching the drive off Jorge Alcala soar into the right-field second deck.

“I feel so good. It means a lot,” De La Cruz said. “It’s the first of many.”

The All-Star shortstop has played in an NL-leading 147 games this season, and manager David Bell doesn't expect to give him a break down the stretch.

“He’s playing with good energy. He’s playing hard. He’s taking care of himself," Bell said. "I know he’s played a lot of innings, a lot of games, All-Star Game. We’re watching everybody close. If somebody really needs one, we’ll give him a day off, for sure. He’s proving just having him on the field helps us win games.”

Julian Aguiar (2-0), in the longest of his six major league starts, held the Twins to three hit over 6 1/3 innings with four strikeouts.

“I just went out there, just grooved along. All my pitches were working with me. It kind of went by quick,” said Aguiar, who hadn't thrown a pitch in the seventh inning before Friday. “I didn’t realize (until) I got out the mound in the seventh inning and they started singing for the seventh-inning stretch. I was like, ‘Oh. OK.’”

Friedl had three hits and drove in three runs. His home run off was off the end of his bat and landed in the flower boxes just beyond the 23-foot right-field wall.

“I was hoping it would say fair, if anything,” Friedl said. “Normally when you hit it out front like that is going to hook towards the line more, so I was watching it and saw it wasn’t hooking. That’s when I started running, and I guess it just barely cleared.”

Byron Buxton homered for the Twins in his first game since Aug. 12 after recovering from a hip injury.

“Nice to see him get back in action and whack one,” Baldelli said. “Already, he comes in and impacts us in a really nice way.”

Ober gave up five runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. He completed at least six innings for the 14th time in his last 15 starts.

UP NEXT

Minnesota RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 3.96) starts Saturday against Cincinnati RHP Nick Martinez (8-6, 3.46).

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Bailey Ober delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Nikolas Liepins)

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Julian Aguiar delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Nikolas Liepins)

Cincinnati Reds outfielder TJ Friedl catches the ball for an out against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Nikolas Liepins)

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Julian Aguiar fields the ball during the third inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Nikolas Liepins)

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Julian Aguiar delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Nikolas Liepins)

Cincinnati Reds' TJ Friedl runs on his a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Nikolas Liepins)

Cincinnati Reds Elly De La Cruz (44) bats during the third inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Nikolas Liepins)

Cincinnati Reds Elly De La Cruz (44) celebrates with Cincinnati Reds third base coach J.R. House (56) after hitting a grand slam during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Nikolas Liepins)

Cincinnati Reds Elly De La Cruz (44) celebrates with Cincinnati Reds teammate Ty France (2) after hitting a grand slam during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Nikolas Liepins)

Cincinnati Reds Elly De La Cruz runs home after hitting a grand slam during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Nikolas Liepins)

Cincinnati Reds Elly De La Cruz (44) celebrates with teammates after hitting a grand slam during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Nikolas Liepins)

Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorized its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them.

Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded almost simultaneously Tuesday across Lebanon and in parts of Syria, killing at least nine people, government and Hezbollah officials said. Officials pointed the finger at Israel in what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack. The Israeli military declined to comment.

Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire daily, coming close to a full-blown war on several occasions and forcing tens of thousands on both sides of the border to evacuate their homes.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little over half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Here's the latest:

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says four soldiers were killed in southern Gaza and five others were wounded, with three of them in serious condition.

The deaths on Tuesday came nearly a year into the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The army did not describe the circumstances, but Israeli media reported that the soldiers were killed by a hidden bomb that exploded inside a building.

One of the four, Staff Sgt. Agam Naim, an army paramedic, was the first female soldier to have been killed in combat in Gaza, according to Israeli media.

Hamas and other armed groups remain active across the territory despite months of heavy Israeli bombardment and ground operations that have destroyed vast areas and displaced most of the population.

Israel says 346 of its soldiers have been killed since the start of ground operations last October. The military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorized its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them.

Pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded near-simultaneously Tuesday in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least nine people, including an 8-year-old girl, and wounding more than 2,000. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack.

The AR-924 pagers used by the militants were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, based in Hungary’s capital, according to a statement released Wednesday by Gold Apollo.

“According to the cooperation agreement, we authorize BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,” the statement read.

Gold Apollo chair Hsu Ching-kuang told journalists Wednesday that his company has had a licensing agreement with BAC for the past three years, but did not provide evidence of the contract.

The AR-924 pager, advertised as being “rugged,” contains a rechargeable lithium battery, according to specifications once advertised on Gold Apollo’s website before it was apparently taken down Tuesday after the sabotage attack. It could receive text messages of up to 100 characters and claimed to have up to 85 days of battery life. That’s something that would be crucial in Lebanon, where electricity outages have been common as the tiny nation on the Mediterranean Sea has faced years of economic collapse. Pagers also run on a different wireless network than mobile phones, making them more resilient in emergencies — one of the reasons why many hospitals worldwide still rely on them.

FILE - Israeli soldiers move next to destroyed buildings following Israeli strikes during a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)

Civil Defense first-responders carry a man who was wounded after his handheld pager exploded, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024.(AP Photo)

People gather outside the American University hospital after the arrival of several people who were wounded by exploding handheld pagers, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Palestinians in Lebanon wave their national flags during a protest in front of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People gather around an ambulance carrying wounded people whose handheld pager exploded, at the emergency entrance of the American University hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

The supermoon rises behind the houses in Mas'ade, a village in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A Lebanese Red Cross volunteer collects blood donations for those who were injured by their exploded handheld pagers, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, at a Red Cross center in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)