CHICAGO (AP) — Elly De La Cruz hit two-run triple in the 10th inning to break a scoreless tie and the Cincinnati Reds ended their season with a 3-0 shutout of the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.
De La Cruz tagged Ethan Roberts (1-1) for the go-ahead hit down the right field line on an 0-2 count after Luke Maile singled and Jonathan India walked. Tyler Stephenson came up next and drove in De La Cruz with a single to center to help the Reds end a five-game skid.
Tony Santillan (3-3) got the win and Buck Farmer worked the bottom of the 10th for his first save.
The Cubs, seeking a sweep of the Reds, managed just three hits as Cody Bellinger and Dansby Swanson got the day off.
Caleb Kilian made his first start of the season for the Cubs and allowed three hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings. Hunter Greene worked the first four for Cincinnati and gave up a hit with three walks and three strikeouts.
De La Cruz had a pair of stolen bases and finished the season with an MLB-best 67. He’s the first Cincinnati player to lead the majors in steals since Bobby Tolan swiped 57 in 1970.
Luis Vazquez logged his first career hit for Chicago, which matched last season’s 83-79 mark.
Cincinnati finished the year 77-85, a five-win decline from last year. The Reds haven’t posted consecutive winning seasons in more than a decade. The club also will be looking for a new manager during the offseason to replace David Bell, who was dismissed last week after six seasons.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: Reliever Keegan Thompson left in the middle of an eighth-inning at-bat with an undisclosed injury.
TURNSTILE COUNT
The Cubs sold 2,990,794 tickets this season, a little more than 15,000 more than last summer. Fans were hoping for a postseason berth during the offseason, when Chicago made Craig Counsell the highest-paid manager in the game’s history. The Cubs never could make up any ground on NL Central winner Milwaukee in the season’s final month.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati begins its spring season Feb. 22 with a split-squad visit from Cleveland and a trip to Milwaukee’s training complex.
Chicago gets its exhibition slate started with a Feb. 20 game at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ complex.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Chicago Cubs starter Caleb Kilian delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Chicago, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Cincinnati Reds starter Hunter Greene delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz watches his two RBI double during the tenth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox honored longtime radio voice Joe Castiglione, who called his final game Sunday, with an on-field pregame ceremony.
The 74-year-old Castiglione, who was honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer with the Ford C. Frick Award, has been the team’s lead radio voice since 1983.
During the ceremony, the team played highlights of his calls over videos of the American League championship team in 1986, and Boston’s World Series title teams in 2004, ’07, ’13 and ’18 on the center-field scoreboard.
Members of those teams came onto the field during the ceremony. Hall of Famer Jim Rice highlighted the ’86 group and Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez was one of the ’04 former players.
Castiglione referred to his call ending the ’04 championship that broke an 86-year title drought, when he thanked the fans. It came on a ground ball back to pitcher Keith Foulke, who was also there to represent that team.
“I will miss being your eyes and ears,” he said. “For 42 years, all I can say is: Can you believe it!”
Asked how he felt making the call of his final out — a liner to center by Tampa Bay's Richie Palacios that ended a 3-1 victory by the Red Sox, Castiglione said: “I was sort of numb. It sort of felt like the ninth inning in St. Louis in ‘04. ... It still really hasn’t set in, probably won't until next spring.”
Before the top of the eighth, the team ran a montage of his calls over highlights shown on the center-field scoreboard. When it was over, the entire Red Sox dugout emptied, with players, coaches and manager Alex Cora stepping onto the field, looking up and applauding toward him in the booth behind home plate.
“I had some moments, especially when Alex brought the players out,” Castiglione said.
Jackie Bradley, the 2018 ALCS MVP, caught a ceremonial first pitch from Castiglione.
“Forty-two years is a long, long time for someone to be working every single day to go through the struggles and the successes, the travel and the lifestyle, and always have a smile,” Martinez said. “Those are the kind of people that deserve all the respect that we are giving him today.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu handed him a proclamation declaring Sept. 29, 2024, as “Joe Castiglione Day” in Boston. Team President Sam Kennedy presented him with letters from Fenway Park’s infamous Green Monster that read: “CASTIG” in white with a green background color of the Monster.
Cora, a member of the ’07 team, was also on the field and Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow, representing the ’13 squad, was on the field as well.
Castiglione signed off like he does each season, reading part of A. Bartlett Giamatti's “The Green Fields of the Mind.”
“I did right away, right after the game ended,” he said.
This story has been corrected to show that Castiglione was honored with an award by the Hall of Fame, not inducted.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Joe Castiglione, left, radio voice of the Boston Red Sox since 1983, throws out a ceremonial first pitch during pregame ceremonies for Castiglione, before the Tampa Bay Rays played the Red Sox in a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
