It seems like every day, Stewart impresses his manager.
Sal Stewart went deep again on Tuesday night, and his manager could not stop talking about how he did it.
Stewart's solo home run off Robbie Ray in the fourth inning gave the Cincinnati Reds a 2-0 lead in what turned into a 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants at Great American Ball Park.
It was his fifth homer of the season, and it came on a 3-2 pitch that he drove 390 feet to right-center field.
Francona Sees a Throwback
What stood out to Terry Francona was not the distance or the exit velocity.
It was the way Stewart hit the ball to the opposite field, staying on top of it instead of trying to lift it the way so many hitters do now.
"In an era of baseball when you're not supposed to talk about the top hand, (Stewart) has a great top hand," Francona said. "He can get on top of that ball and I know that's not a real popular term in today's game but I love it."
Francona has been around professional baseball for over four decades, so when he calls a 22-year-old hitter a throwback, that carries weight.
Most young hitters are built around launch angle and uppercut swings.
Stewart went the other way on a 95 mph four-seam fastball on a full count, and he did not try to do too much with it.
That approach has helped the Reds stay competitive even when the rest of the lineup has not shown up.
Stewart Carrying the Lineup
Through 17 games, Stewart is batting .310 with five home runs, 11 RBIs, 13 walks and three stolen bases.
He leads all National League rookies in home runs, OPS (1.086), hits (18), walks (13) and total bases (37).
He reached base 10 times in the first three games, joining Jim Fregosi (1964) and Barney McCosky (1939) as the only players since 1900 to do that at 22 or younger.
The rest of the Cincinnati lineup has not been nearly as productive.
The Reds own the second-worst team batting average in the National League at .201, and they have scored more than three runs just six times all season.
Tuesday's game was another example, as Cincinnati managed just three total hits.
But two of them were solo homers from Stewart and Spencer Steer, and Brady Singer held the Giants to one run over six innings to help the Reds push their record to 10-7.
What It Means Going Forward
Cincinnati is 4-0 in one-run games this season, and a big reason for that is Stewart giving the pitching staff just enough run support.
The Reds dropped three straight before Tuesday's win, but Stewart has been the one constant in a lineup that has struggled to find its footing.
As long as he keeps swinging the bat the way Francona wants him to, this team will keep finding ways to win tight games even when the offense around him stays cold.