The Cincinnati Reds welcomed Aaron Harang, Lou Piniella, Brandon Phillips, and Reggie Sanders into their team’s Hall of Fame in ceremony on Saturday afternoon. And while the butts in the seats in Great American Ball Park may well have been there to see them honor the team’s past, it was the present that ended up putting on the greatest show of the night.
The Reds rocked Detroit Tigers starter Jack Flaherty early and often, a 3-run tater by Sal Stewart in the Bottom of the 1st the first big blow. Nathaniel Lowe followed with a homer of his own – his third in the last 24 hours – while both Elly De La Cruz and TJ Friedl eventually homered as the Reds blasted their way to a 9-2 win that secured yet another series victory.
Stewart, who takes home tonight’s Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game, was once again ridiculous at the plate. He consistently worked deep counts, fouling off countless pitches designed to get him to swing himself out after taking a few initial strikes. He eventually finished 3 for 4 with a walk, homer, and five ribbies on the night, a number that gives him 29 on the season through just 27 games played.
This tweet, for example, came before he drove in two more.
Sal leads all of Major League Baseball in ribbies with 29 as of the time of writing this, something that’s made even more incredible by how poor Cincinnati’s offense as a whole has been through the month of April. Quite simply, he’s been the best, most timely, most clutch hitter in the game so far this season, and he’s a rookie.
Rookie.
He’s Cincinnati’s rookie, though, and for that we are all incredibly thankful.
The Reds moved to 18-9 on the season with the win, tightening their grip on 1st place in the National League Central while improving their start to a season to levels not seen since 2003. On Sunday, they’ll send Rhett Lowder to the bump with a chance to sweep the series, and I’ve been gifted the ability to type the word ‘sweep’ more often this month than in any month of Reds baseball that I can remember.
The goings, folks, they are quite good right now. Here’s to them continuing ad infinitum.
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