Brandon Williamson’s return start gave the Reds something to think about.
On a night when Cincinnati was trying to keep stacking wins in the 2026 season and also start mapping out a 2027 rotation without the injured Hunter Greene, Williamson gave himself a real shot to stay in the conversation. The left-hander made his first appearance for the Reds since April 29 and worked 5 1/3 innings in a 7-3 win over the Padres on Wednesday.
Manager Terry Francona made the stakes clear before the game.
“This is an important month for him, yeah," Francona said before his team faced the Padres.
Williamson didn’t have a clean start, but he battled through it and settled in enough to help Cincinnati finish off its second straight series victory over a contending club. He allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks, and he struck out five.
The first two innings were rough. Fernando Tatis Jr. opened the game with a leadoff single to center, and Ty France followed by turning a 2-2 changeup into a two-out, two-run homer to the first row of seats in left field. In the second, Austin Hays doubled to lead off the inning, then scored on Tatis Jr.’s RBI single to left-center.
Williamson wasn’t done dealing with traffic. He walked Samad Taylor later in the second, but got a break when JJ Bleday made a strong running catch before crashing into the wall, stealing an extra-base hit from Jackson Merrill.
The Reds answered fast and loud. In the bottom of the second, Juan Brito - called up from Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday - launched his first Major League homer, a three-run shot to right field. Then, with two outs, Héctor Rodríguez sent a solo homer to right-center to put Cincinnati ahead.
From there, Williamson found his footing. France singled to start the third, but Williamson induced a double play and then breezed through a seven-pitch inning. He kept rolling after that, retiring eight straight hitters at one point.
His last test came in the sixth. A leadoff walk and an infield hit put pressure back on him, but Williamson answered by striking out debuting top Padres prospect Ethan Salas with a cutter on his 87th and final pitch.
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Britos week stood out even more when he launched his first major league home run and added a stolen base in the same series, the kind of all-around flash that can make a late-season look matter more than the calendar suggests. For a club thinking ahead as much as it is trying to finish strong, these are the auditions worth monitoring, especially with Brito potentially in the conversation for the offseason roster and Williamson trying to show he can still be part of the pitching picture. [Read more 🡒]