Stewart makes latest case for Rookie of the Year in Reds' win at Wrigley

CHICAGO -- As Sal Stewart stood in front of his locker Friday afternoon, Reds teammates were saying "Rookie of the Year" and calling out "ROY." Those calls could very well get louder from inside and outside of the clubhouse if the first baseman puts together one more strong month.

Stewart delivered two hits -- including his 29th home run -- and two more RBIs to reach a Major League-leading 102. Stewart beat out a grounder in the sixth inning to push across the go-ahead run in the middle of a five-run rally as the Reds held on for a 10-8 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

“I don’t want to keep talking about it," Stewart said of the award talk. "There’s a lot of great players. I’ve said it once and I’ll continue to say it -- I’m proud of all of their seasons and I’m happy for them. Do I want to win it? Yes. But I don’t want to keep bringing it back up. I want to focus on winning games. It’s not fair to these guys right here, who’ve played a lot of games.”

Those guys near him were more than happy to talk about what Stewart wasn't.

“It’s incredible. It’s a hell of a first year," said designated hitter Tyler Stephenson, who followed Stewart's single with a three-run homer. "It’s just been cool seeing him do it every day. Anytime guys are on, you know he's going to get the job done. It's been cool to see what he's been able to do this year."

“It’s remarkable," said closer Emilio Pagán, who notched his 18th save with a perfect ninth inning. "If I had a vote, he’s Rookie of the Year. Obviously, I’m biased. And he’s getting stronger down the stretch, which is really hard for young players to do. You see it every year. A rookie will hit a proverbial wall in August or September, [but] his at-bats seem to be getting better.”

Friday marked the start of a gauntlet-like remaining schedule for the Reds -- the toughest in MLB -- with 25 consecutive games against opponents currently in playoff position. Plus, the final three games are against the still-contending Blue Jays.

Not surprising, but that was not an issue on manager Terry Francona's mind.

"One, we’re going to play until they send us home," Francona said. "And two, our best way to do that is by playing today. That’s just the best way to be productive.”

Productive the Reds were. For the second straight game, they pulled off a nice comeback and enjoyed another big rally. On Wednesday when trailing the Giants, 9-3, they used a seven-run ninth-inning rally to take a 10-9 win. Those types of offensive outbursts have been craved by a Cincinnati club that scored one or zero runs in nine of its previous 18 games entering Friday.

“We’re just playing hard, it shows the resilience of this team," Stewart said. "Things haven’t gone our way but we’re still playing hard. … That’s the standard we have.”

Cincinnati trailed, 3-0, after three innings but chipped away with one run in the fourth inning on Héctor Rodríguez's two-out RBI single before adding another in the fifth on Stewart's solo drive to the bleachers in left-center field off starting pitcher David Peterson.

With one more homer, Stewart would be the first Reds rookie to hit 30 homers and record 100 or more RBIs in the same season. With his two RBIs, he passed Jim Greengrass (100 in 1953) for the franchise's single-season record for a rookie.

“We’re not even to September, that’s pretty impressive," Francona said.

In the big sixth inning against reliever Trent Thornton, Jose Trevino tied the game with a one-out solo homer to left-center field. Later with two outs and two runners on, Stewart grounded to the hole at shortstop and beat the throw for an infield single that scored Rodríguez.

“Credit to him, all the work he’s put in his entire life and early in his pro career," Pagán said of Stewart. "He’s not just one of the best rookie hitters, he’s one of the best hitters in the league, so we’re very lucky to have him.”

Stephenson's homer to left-center field and Elly De La Cruz's two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning made it a 9-3 lead. But Cincinnati's bullpen struggled as the Cubs scored one run in the seventh inning and another four in the bottom of the eighth. That included Pedro Ramírez's three-run homer to right field off Tejay Antone and Seiya Suzuki's RBI double against Sam Moll.

Pagán was given an insurance run thanks to TJ Friedl’s solo homer in the top of the frame. Friedl remained with the club Friday after he was not claimed following his placement on outright waivers.

“We started out slow," Francona said. "We did some real good things kind of in the middle. Thankfully, we spread it out. If you spread it out, a mistake doesn’t cost you a game. Because we made some mistakes pitching at the end but it didn’t cost us a game.”