De La Cruz closes in on 30-30, Williamson throws six sharp innings as Reds blank Braves 4-0

De La Cruz edged closer to a 30-30 season, while Brandon Williamson delivered six impressive innings, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a dominant 4-0 victory over the NL East champions, the Atlanta Braves. De La Cruz stole his 29th base in the opening frame and added his 29th home run in the third inning. He extended his lead with a run-scoring single in the seventh inning.

Dane Myers and Eugenio Suárez also contributed with home runs for Cincinnati, with Suárez's blast marking his 350th career homer. Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta's top slugger, exited the game in the third inning after suffering an injury to his left leg. He limped off the field, was examined by the team's medical staff, and was later reported as day-to-day, a significant relief for the Braves ahead of their playoffs, which begin in a week's time.

Williamson (5-4) allowed only three hits, no walks, and struck out two over his 68-pitch outing. He prevented any runners from advancing past first base, a remarkable feat for a pitcher who has faced struggles throughout his injury-riddled season and has been primarily utilized out of the bullpen in his last three outings for the struggling Reds.

Brock Burke, Tejay Antone, and Emilio Pagán each contributed a scoreless inning to complete the impressive shutout. De La Cruz's two-out hit in the third inning off Braves rookie JR Ritchie (1-4) secured his place in the history books as the fourth player in Reds' franchise history to join the 30-30 club, following Eric Davis (1987), Barry Larkin (1996), and Brandon Phillips (2007).

The Braves secured their seventh NL East title in nine years on Sunday and are set to host a best-of-three series against the lowest-seeded wild card next week. Atlanta's starting pitcher for the game, Chris Sale (14-9, 2.18 ERA), is scheduled to make his final start before the playoffs when he faces off against Reds' left-hander Andrew Abbott (6-11, 4.70) on Wednesday night.