NEW YORK – A bigger stage doesn't always mean bigger problems, at least not so far for Sal Stewart.
A rookie playing at Yankee Stadium for the first time this weekend, Stewart delivered in every clutch moment before him on Saturday while tying a career high with six RBIs during a 10-2 thumping of the Yankees that split the first two games of the three-game series.
“Speechless," Stewart said. "To have my family here and everybody I love here, it’s incredible. Six RBIs at Yankee Stadium, I’m 22 playing at Yankee Stadium. I’m just so blessed.”
For Father's Day weekend, Stewart's parents and roughly 25 of his family and friends are in New York for the games. They had plenty to enjoy.
In the third inning against Yankees pitcher Will Warren with one out and the Reds trailing, 1-0, Edwin Arroyo hit a double to right field before Blake Dunn drew a walk. With two outs, Stewart delivered the go-ahead two-run double off the left-field wall.
The big inning came in the top of the fifth after JJ Bleday's one-out double put runners on second and third base. Stewart added a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Dunn.
“Just the confidence he has in himself as a hitter. With runners on, he doesn’t try to do too much," first baseman Spencer Steer said. "He sticks with what he’s good at, hitting line drives in the gaps. He’s done a good job for us. He’s been a rock in the middle of our order all year. I expect him to keep that going.”
Two batters after the sac fly, Steer hit Warren's 2-1 sinker that drifted upward into the left-field seats for a three-run homer and a five-run lead. Mired in a 3-for-45 slump, Steer's three hits have all been homers.
With the bases loaded in the eighth inning, Stewart got a 2-2 fastball that came inside from lefty reliever Ryan Yarbrough, and pulled it for a three-run double to left field that put the game out of reach.
“He’s kind of got a knack for RBIs," manager Terry Francona said. "He might swing through a high fastball for strike one, but by the time you get to two strikes and he’s seen five or six pitches, he gets more dangerous.”
Stewart, who had a four-RBI game on Tuesday, now has 11 RBIs in his last five games.
“Everybody is going to talk about what Sal did, and I get it and it gives me a chance to brag about him," Francona said. "But guys getting on base ahead of him. Dunn beat a forceout [in the fifth], nobody thought much of it at the time, but those things can add up."
Reds starter Andrew Abbott pitched five-plus innings and gave up one run, five hits and three walks while striking out six and improved to 5-2 with a 2.41 ERA over his last 10 starts. Abbott's only hit through the first four innings was a two-out Paul Goldschmidt solo homer to right-center field in the bottom of the first.
Although Abbott had a comfortable five-run lead, back-to-back one-out singles and a two-out walk loaded the bases in the New York fifth inning before he struck out Goldschmidt with a sweeper on the outside corner to escape. The bullpen kept the Yankees mostly quiet the rest of the day, but Stewart's run production in the eighth finished them off.
“We knew he was good, there’s no question about that," Abbott said. "I think it’s maturity and the advanced mental approach or advanced approach at the plate for a kid. He’s 22 years old. He doesn’t really get embarrassed. He takes really good at-bats, which is what you’ve got to do in this league."
Stewart, who also had six RBIs vs. the Giants on April 15, is the seventh Reds player (and first Reds rookie) since the RBI became an official statistic in 1920 to drive in six runs in multiple games during a season. It was last done in 2021 by Jesse Winker and Nick Castellanos.
While playing all 75 games this season, Stewart is batting .252 with an .803 OPS and leads the club with 14 homers and 53 RBIs. He leads all NL rookies in homers, RBIs, extra-base hits, walks and total bases.
“Don’t get me wrong, I miss a lot too. But when people are on base, honestly driving in runs is kind of a team thing," Stewart said. "You try to just get one and if two comes, two comes. I feel like when you play for the team and play to win, then the RBIs come. So yeah, it was a good day. I’m happy about it, for sure.”