The rookie now leads the Reds with 13 home runs
The Cincinnati Reds arrived in the 11th inning Tuesday night carrying a five-game losing streak, nine losses in their previous 11 games and another tense battle that seemed capable of slipping away like so many others had during the past few weeks.
Then Sal Stewart got a pitch he could handle.
His two-run homer over the center-field wall at Petco Park led to Cincinnati's 5-3 victory over the San Diego Padres, but the reaction that followed revealed just how much frustration had built up along the way. By the time Stewart rounded the bases, the emotions had already taken over.
"I've been hearing what's been said about me," Stewart said postgame, via MLB.com. "I've been going through a rough stretch, so it was nice to do that."
For a rookie who has spent much of the season becoming one of Cincinnati's most reliable offensive contributors, the previous couple of weeks had looked unfamiliar. Stewart entered Tuesday on a 1-for-12 stretch, while the Reds as a whole were searching for answers during a stretch that seemed to produce a new frustrating loss every night. Making this win in particular feel less like excitement and more like a release.
"A lot of frustration getting let out," Stewart said, via MLB.com. "It was a big moment. I blacked out."
Cincinnati's bullpen entered the game carrying much of the criticism from the club's recent slide. Reds relievers had posted a 7.00 ERA over their previous 38 games while the team stumbled through a difficult stretch.
Tuesday looked like another night where the bullpen would be forced to navigate traffic. Instead, Brock Burke, Tony Santillan, Sam Moll, Tejay Antone and Zach Maxwell combined to keep the Padres from breaking through repeatedly.
A diving catch by Blake Dunn helped save a run in the eighth. Moll escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth. Maxwell closed the door in the 11th.
"This was the epitome of a team win," said Stewart, via MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. "I'm proud to call these guys my teammates."
Reds manager Terry Francona sounded equally relieved afterward.
"I was actually thrilled for everybody," Francona told reporters, via Sheldon. "It's been tough sledding."
That may be the bigger takeaway from Tuesday night. The Reds didn't suddenly solve every problem that has surfaced during the last few weeks. Francona acknowledged as much afterward.
What they did accomplish was proving they could still finish a game when everything hung in the balance.
For Stewart, the homer represented a response to his own struggles. For the bullpen, it offered validation after weeks of scrutiny. For a team that has spent much of June watching games slip away, it provided something that had become increasingly difficult to find.
The Reds look to channel that new positive energy into Wednesday's series finale, as Brady Singer takes the mound against Padres ace Michael King.
