CINCINNATI -- Reds manager David Bell often decides his lineups based on the numbers, the matchups and other data. But sometimes, Bell simply wants to go with the hot bat. All those criteria seem to fit rookie utility player Josh VanMeter lately.

Playing second base vs. the Rockies on Saturday night, VanMeter started for the third consecutive game, and hit a home run in the second inning to put the Reds ahead on their way to a 3-1 victory at Great American Ball Park.

VanMeter played third base and left field in the previous two games and it’s been hard to argue with the results: In his last three starts, VanMeter went 8-for-11 with two home runs and a double. Including Saturday, the 24-year-old left-handed hitter has homered in four of his last five starts.

• Box score

All of this is happening for someone who wasn’t even in big league camp during Spring Training.

“With Josh, I’ve had to get to know him as a player,” Bell said before Saturday’s game. “We didn’t have him in Spring Training. Clearly, he got off to a great start in Triple-A. He made some really nice adjustments. I think he’s always been talented and had the ability to hit. He’s made some good adjustments that have allowed him to become a more consistent hitter.

“Some guys just have to do a little bit more than the next guy sometimes. That’s just kind of reality. But at this point, when we’re looking at putting our best nine on the field each night, he’s becoming one of those guys more frequently.”

Facing fresh Rockies callup Chi Chi Gonzalez with one out in the bottom of the second inning, VanMeter jumped on a 2-1 four-seam fastball and easily cleared the fence in right-center field.

Eugenio Suárez made it a 3-0 game with one out in the third when he hit a 1-1 pitch to the second deck in left field for a two-run homer -- his team-leading 28th of the season. It was also his 11th home run in July and eighth since the All-Star break.

Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani had one earned run allowed over five-plus innings with four hits, three walks and five strikeouts. Colorado scored its only run against him on a sacrifice fly by Nolan Arenado. DeSclafani is 4-2 with a 2.94 ERA over his last nine starts with 55 strikeouts logged over 49 innings.

With Triple-A Louisville, VanMeter slugged 13 homers in the season’s first month and earned his first promotion to the Reds on May 5; in all, he’s been called up to the big league club four times this season.

“When I’m locked in, I feel like I can just about hit anybody,” VanMeter said. “Obviously, the stretch in Louisville was a little bit longer than these five or six games have been. Compared to that, I definitely feel good in the box.”

After not making great contact initially, VanMeter’s last eight batted balls have been hit hard. His homer against Gonzalez had a 104.5-mph exit velocity, according to Statcast, and his two-out single in the sixth inning left the bat at 103.9 mph. His home run on Wednesday at Milwaukee traveled 463 feet and was the longest hit by a Reds player this season.

VanMeter credits his work in the batting cage with assistant hitting coach Donnie Ecker.

“I try to make my cage work as hard as possible. That way when I get into a game, it’s not like it’s easier but it’s not a shock,” VanMeter said. “The last week or so when I wasn’t playing every day, I was really training hard in the cage. … That and having the confidence when you step in the box and trusting that your preparation will carry over into the game.”

How does one make work in the indoor batting cage harder than usual?

“I’m hitting off the big machine in there, whether it’s high velocity or an offset angle to make a breaking ball look even sharper than it might be in a game,” VanMeter explained. “I’m just creating shapes with the machine in the cage. It helps me feel prepared going into the game. I try to do that stuff every day and it’s been working for me.”

Depending on what the Reds do at the Trade Deadline, the late summer could potentially offer more chances for VanMeter. The club has several pending free-agent position players -- including second baseman Scooter Gennett and right fielder Yasiel Puig. VanMeter can also elevate himself for a closer look in 2020, when it seems highly likely he will be at big league camp in Arizona.

The Reds acquired VanMeter from the Padres system on Dec. 8, 2016. In a prearranged deal, Cincinnati agreed to take catcher Luis Torrens in the Rule 5 Draft and flipped him to San Diego. The player to be named coming back in the move was VanMeter.

“It’s been a crazy year, so far,” VanMeter said. “It’s been a whirlwind of emotion. The best way to put it is a roller coaster. If you had told me in February that I would be here and given this opportunity, I would have said you’re probably crazy. But it’s been such a great experience. It’s something my family and I will remember forever. I want to keep building on the opportunity I have been given and go from there.”