MILWAUKEE -- Batting practice was optional for Reds hitters before Saturday's game against the Brewers. But the pregame schedule had carved out extra time for young shortstop Jose Barrero and hitting coach Alan Zinter to work together, one-on-one, on the field and in the cages.

The payoff came quickly during a 7-5 Reds victory over Milwaukee. Barrero slugged not only the first home run of his Major League career, but the first two.

“It’s incredible. To have this come up today just feels amazing," Barrero said via translator Jorge Merlos.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Barrero is the second Reds player to hit his first two big league homers in the same game. The first time it happened was July 31, 1900, when Harry Steinfeldt did it vs. the Boston Braves.

"That’s always nice to see. Obviously, he’s a very talented kid with tremendous tools in his body," Zinter said. "Today was just a little bit of slowing the game down a little bit, just giving him some on-field awareness and some control in his load and his ride to read the ball. Manage that with better posture and stuff like that, but he did all the work. He felt a little bit more at ease. It was nice for him to get some hits today and show what he’s capable of doing."

Entering Saturday, Barrero was 0-for-6 with three strikeouts in his first two games after being recalled Wednesday from Triple-A Louisville, in what is essentially a two-month opportunity for the 24-year-old to show he can hit well enough to be Cincinnati's long-term shortstop.

"Batting practice isn’t everything, but he definitely took what he was working on into the game," Reds manager David Bell said. "It’s nice when that happens. Usually, it doesn’t work like that. Usually, it’s kind of a delayed reaction. It speaks a lot to the kind of athlete he is to be able to do that.”

Cincinnati already had a 2-0 lead against Brewers starter Aaron Ashby when Barrero just missed a double with a foul ball near the left-field line. He then lifted a 1-1 fastball to left-center field for a two-run homer to left-center field.

Statcast registered the drive at 105 mph, and it traveled an estimated 408 feet. When he returned to the dugout, Barrero hugged teammates, looked at a television camera and made the symbol for a heart. That was a salute to his late mother, Tonia Barrero, who died unexpectedly in 2021. He changed his last name from Garcia in his mother's memory.

"I was rounding the bases and I just felt all the emotions come through. It was great," Barrero said.

The lead was less comfortable by the sixth inning, 4-3, when Barrero led off the sixth inning by driving reliever Hoby Milner's 2-0 sinker over the fence in left-center field again.

Joey Votto added a solo homer to left field in the seventh inning and Donovan Solano added a homer in the eighth. The offense boosted rookie starting pitcher Nick Lodolo, who had an off night and grinded through 4 2/3 innings with three earned runs, four hits, four walks and two homers allowed.

Barrero was having a lackluster season that began on the injured list with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand. In 55 games for Louisville, he was batting .209/.262/.377 with nine homers and 89 strikeouts in 237 plate appearances (37.6 percent).

Out of contention and rebuilding, the Reds still went ahead and promoted Barrero after Tuesday's Trade Deadline, moving incumbent shortstop Kyle Farmer to third base to replace the departed Brandon Drury.

Barrero's defensive skills and range have never been in doubt. The question has long been whether he could hit at the highest level, after he struggled in parts of two seasons in 2020 and '21.

Zinter believed that he could.

"He’s just got the ability to drive baseballs to all parts of the field, so it’s very exciting," Zinter said. "That early Spring Training a couple of years ago when he went off, that was my first look at him. It was like, ‘Wow, there is something in there.’ Now, it’s like learning to command ABs, learning to be able to put yourself in good hitting counts and stuff like that. That’s what he is trying to accomplish."

After the game, Barrero emerged from the clubhouse and met a young fan who had ended up with the ball from the first home run. He gave the boy, Charlie, a signed bat and ball in exchange for the prized keepsake.

“First of all, I’d like to dedicate it to my mom," Barrero said. "Unfortunately, she’s not with us here anymore. I think I’m going to give it to my brother, who has been with me side-by-side through all of this. It’s going to go with him.”