Francona knows a good team when he sees it.
The Cincinnati Reds refuse to go quietly this season.
Friday night's 9-8 walk-off win over the Detroit Tigers was the latest and wildest example of a team that keeps finding ways to win.
Nathaniel Lowe, who was not even supposed to be in the lineup after Eugenio Suarez was scratched with back pain, launched a two-out, two-run homer off closer Kenley Jansen in the ninth to cap a comeback from a five-run deficit.
It was the type of game that can change a season, and manager Terry Francona had a clear takeaway.
"Well, and I think we need to see that, that's the type of team we need to be," Francona said postgame. "You know, Sal kind of carried us for a while there and we get to start getting contributions all over the map that'll really help us."
Friday Was the Perfect Example
That is exactly what happened against Detroit. Matt McLain, who entered the game hitting .200 with no home runs, hit two of them and sparked the comeback in the fifth inning with a two-run shot off Framber Valdez.
Lowe added a 438-foot blast in the sixth before the rain came, and after a delay of almost two hours, McLain tied it with another homer in the seventh.
Even after Tony Santillan gave up the lead in the eighth, Lowe ended it in the ninth with his second homer of the night.
That type of production from up and down the lineup is what Francona has been waiting for, because Stewart really has been doing the heavy lifting.
The 22-year-old rookie is hitting .284 with eight home runs, tied with Elly De La Cruz for the team lead, and he has been the biggest reason Cincinnati's offense has stayed afloat despite ranking near the bottom of the league in most hitting categories.
Why the Reds Keep Winning Anyway
Cincinnati sits at 17-9 and in first place in the NL Central, which is remarkable given how thin the offense has looked.
The Reds are averaging under four runs per game but have been nearly perfect in close games with a 6-0 record in contests decided by one run.
A dominant bullpen and strong defense have made up for the offensive struggles, and Chase Burns has been excellent in the rotation with a 2.57 ERA across five starts.
But Francona knows that formula only works for so long if the same one or two guys are doing all the damage.
Friday's game was a reminder that when guys like McLain and Lowe step up alongside Stewart and De La Cruz, this lineup has another gear.
The Bigger Picture
The Reds came into 2026 with low expectations and a 0.6 percent World Series probability from preseason projections.
They are blowing past those numbers.
If the contributions start spreading throughout the lineup the way Francona described, Cincinnati is going to be a problem in the National League for a while.