The Reds began the second half with a win and got some strong performances from multiple players. Brady Singer threw seven strong innings – something tough to do in Coors – and Spencer Steer hit two home runs as Cincinnati topped the Colorado Rockies 7-2.
The Reds didn’t waste much time to get their second half started with some offense. Elly De La Cruz led off the game with a single and then he scored from 1st base when All-Star Sal Stewart doubled into left-center.
On the other end of things it was Brady Singer facing the Rockies hitters and he was dominant early on. So much so that he didn’t allow a baserunner until there was one out in the 5th inning when TJ Rumfield hit a blooper just over the head of Elly De La Cruz for a single. Things ramped up a bit from there. A grounder to second base followed and the Reds got the force out at second but the throw to first base wasn’t in time and was high. A single then put runners on the corners and a sacrifice fly brought in the tying run.
In the top of the 6th inning JJ Bleday drew a 1-out walk and the Rockies decided to go to their bullpen to bring in former Red Jimmy Herget to face Spencer Steer. The move did not work out well for Colorado. Herget’s second pitch to Steer landed in the stands as the Reds outfielder hit a go-ahead 2-run home run. Four pitches later Eugenio Suarez put a ball in the seats one section further towards center for back-to-back homers that made it 4-1. The next inning they would tack on another run when Sal Stewart plated Ke’Bryan Hayes with a sacrifice fly.
Brady Singer headed back to the mound for the 7th with a 5-1 lead. He would strike out Kyle Karros to start the inning but then saw Will Castro hit a solo home run to cut into Cincinnati’s lead. Back-to-back groundouts ended the inning as the Reds righty held onto the lead.
In the top of the 8th inning Spencer Steer led off with a fly ball off of the wall in right-center and it hit the wall and came off rolling towards center on the warning track. Steer raced around the bases and and with a head first slide turned it into an inside-the-park home run – his second homer of the game – to get the run back for his team and make it a 4-run lead once again.
The 9th inning began with a groundout. But Elly De La Cruz, who had three hits on the day already, crushed a 434-foot home run to extend the lead for the visitors to 7-2. Tejay Antone entered the game in the bottom of the inning and worked around a 2-out double to hold onto the 5-run lead and put an end to the game.
Key Moment of the Game
The back-to-back home runs by Spencer Steer and Eugenio Suarez in the 6th inning that put Cincinnati back on top.
Notes Worth Noting
Spencer Steer had his second 2-home run game of the season. He also had two against Kansas City on June 2nd. After the game he told Jim Day on Reds TV that it was the first inside-the-park home run he can remember hitting since little league.
The home run by Elly De La Cruz gave him 200 extra-base hits for his career. That made him just the second player in MLB history with 200 extra-base hits and 150 steals in his first four years. The other player was Juan Samuel, who also happened to be his hitting coach when De La Cruz was in Dayton with the Dragons back in 2022.
Brady Singer had an ERA of 7.77 in May. He battled some minor injuries during the month and he just flat out struggled. Since June began he’s made eight starts and has a 2.76 ERA while throwing 45.2 innings and striking out 46 batters.
Tejay Antone lowered his ERA to 2.17 in his 29.0 innings on the year. He joined the Reds in early May and allowed five earned runs in his first six outings. Since then he’s allowed two earned runs in 23 games, covering 22.0 innings.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Colorado Rockies
Saturday July 18th, 3:10pm ET
Rhett Lowder (3-6, 5.05 ERA) vs TBA
