Elly De La Cruz in the leadoff spot as Reds look for series win over Pirates

Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds grounds out in the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers

Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona had seemingly settled on centerfielder Blake Dunn as his everyday leadoff man a couple of weeks back. Despite the team’s overall inability to score runs on a regular basis, that wasn’t necessarily Dunn’s fault – he’s been pretty cromulent atop the order ever since.

But with Dunn exiting Friday night’s series opening victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates early due to soreness in his right elbow, Tito was going to need to find a different solution to the top of his lineup come Saturday.

Turns out, that’ll come in the form of batting one of the most electric players in the sport there.

Elly De La Cruz returns to the leadoff spot for Saturday afternoon’s game against the Bucs, while Dane Myers will get the start in center in Dunn’s stead.

Chase Burns will toe the rubber for the Reds as they look to claim the series victory after downing ace Paul Skenes in Friday night’s 6-4 victory.

First pitch is set for 2:05 PM ET. Here’s how the Reds will line up to start: