MILWAUKEE -- Sal Stewart belted a solo home run in the first inning and doubled off Brewers starter Brandon Sproat in the sixth to drive in the Reds’ only other run on Tuesday night.
Stewart’s effort was among the few bright spots on offense for the Reds in a 7-2 loss to the Brewers in the second of a four-game series at American Family Field.
Stewart’s opposite-field homer was his team-leading 16th and the second most by a Cincinnati rookie before the team’s 85th game of a season behind only Hall of Famer Frank Robinson’s 20 in 1956.
“He’s just a really good hitter. He uses the whole field,” manager Terry Francona said. “A lot of times with young guys, they want to hit for power before they learn how to hit. He knows how to hit. And he’s strong enough and a good enough hitter that he gets rewarded when he goes the other way.”
Stewart logged two of the Reds’ four hits against Sproat.
“I just got some good pitches to hit and I hit them good,” Stewart said.
Stewart said he didn’t go to the plate specifically looking to go opposite field.
“I just try to stay in the middle of the field,” he said.
Stewart’s double came after Elly De La Cruz, batting directly ahead of him in the Reds' leadoff spot, also doubled.
“When Sal and Elly hit the ball the other way with authority, that’s a good thing,” Francona said.
Stewart hit five home runs in 55 at-bats for the Reds last season. And here’s another stat for the National League Rookie of the Year candidate. He ranks among an exclusive list of Reds players with the most home runs before their respective teams’ 85th game of the season at age 22 or younger. The list includes: Johnny Bench (28) in 1970, Robinson (20) in 1956, Jay Bruce (18) in 2009, Stewart and Adam Dunn (16 in 2002).
“That’s great,” said Stewart, who insisted he pays no attention to the stats. He said his focus remains on helping the team win.
“We just need to keep playing hard and staying together,” he said.
Stewart’s productive night couldn’t offset a rough statistical start by Rhett Lowder, who gave up six runs on 11 hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings.
“They hit a couple balls really hard, but they hit a lot of singles,” Francona said. “I’m not taking away from anything they do. They put the ball in play. They hit the ball the other way. You’re going to get rewarded for that. And they run. But that was still tough for Rhett. I thought he threw the ball really well.”
Lowder walked one and struck out eight, including striking out the side in the first, and surrendered a home run to Jake Bauers in the fifth. Lowder threw 82 pitches (57 strikes).
“He threw a lot of strikes, especially early,” Francona said. “If we have someone throwing too many strikes, then good. That’s a lot better than the other way. He didn’t throw a ton of pitches, but it still wears you down. You’re pitching with the bases loaded and you execute a pitch, and you don’t get anything for it except runs. I’m sure it gets frustrating.”
Lowder said he wanted to stay on the attack in the fourth, when the Brewers scored four runs on six hits, including five consecutive singles.
“The inning got long for me,” he said. “They kept finding holes. I’ve got to find a way to get deeper in that game.”
The Reds fell to 4-19 against NL Central opponents this season. Cincinnati (39-45) sits a season-high six games below .500, and has lost six consecutive games to Milwaukee.
“They just played better than us,” Francona said.