Elly De La Cruz hit a three-run homer in Cincinnati’s 10-run first inning as the Reds pounced on Lance McCullers early and held on for a 13-9 win over the Houston Astros.

The numbers do not lie: they are now, once again, a sub-.500 baseball team. And the next club on the docket is the Houston Astros, a club on the tail end of a generational dynasty that has twice won World Series titles since 2017 (and appeared in another pair of World Series, too).