CINCINNATI – Although a 22-year-old rookie for the Reds, first baseman Sal Stewart has already demonstrated his understanding that hitters have ebbs and flows in their performances over a long season. Stewart has already experienced both in 2026.
It's been an ebb for the last few weeks, so perhaps Stewart's performance Tuesday vs. the Mets is a sign he's ready to flow again. With a three-run home run in the first inning and an RBI single in the fifth, Stewart led the way for a 5-3 Cincinnati win at Great American Ball Park.
The Reds (35-37) took the first two games of their three-game set vs. the Mets to snap a five-series losing streak.
Monday's Reds win came while attacking a Triple-A call-up early in starter Tobias Myers. They did it again Tuesday on another fresh arrival in the struggling Kodai Senga, who was activated from the injured list to make the start. Senga walked his first two batters to open his night.
That set the stage for Stewart, who crushed a 2-1 sinker into the left field seats for a three-run homer – his team-leading 14th of the season.
Entering the night, Stewart was batting .205 (16-for-78) with a .621 OPS and one homer over his previous 21 games.
With two outs, Spencer Steer made it a 4-0 game when he hit his 11th homer, a solo drive to left-center field.
The Reds had lost each of Brady Singer's last seven starts, including a six-inning quality start his previous time out at San Diego. Singer gave up one run, three hits and three walks over five innings with five strikeouts.
In the fifth inning, after Edwin Arroyo led off with a double to left field and Blake Dunn bunted for a single, Stewart hit a one-out RBI single to left field to make it a 5-1 game.