The Reds got exactly the kind of jolt they needed Thursday afternoon, and then spent the rest of the game hanging on for dear life.
Cincinnati mashed three home runs, survived a chaotic stretch that included hit-by-pitches and a benches-clearing moment, and edged the Chicago White Sox 9-8 in a series-clinching win. The result pushed the Reds to 58-62 and left them 15-10 since the All-Star break.
After Wednesday’s 5-0 shutout, when Cincinnati managed just two hits, the offense wasted no time shaking off the dust against Davis Martin. Martin had already been tagged for 19 runs over his previous 16 innings, and the Reds jumped him right away.
Sal Stewart opened the scoring in the first inning by crushing a hanging slider into the left-field seats for a 1-0 lead. The inning only got louder from there. After Martin hit Tyler Stephenson in the back with a pitch, Eugenio Suárez followed with a two-run homer that just cleared the wall in left, pushing Cincinnati ahead 3-0.
That was the kind of early punch the Reds had been missing. Over their previous five games, they had scored only 11 runs while striking out 48 times, so Thursday’s first inning came as a welcome change of pace.
Then the game turned chippy.
After Davis Martin threw two straight pitches near Sal Stewart’s head, the second one hit him in the helmet. Stewart reacted immediately, both benches emptied, and the umpires eventually tossed Martin after just two innings. Whether the pitch was payback for Stewart’s earlier homer remained up for debate, but the moment gave an already wild game another layer of edge.
Tyler Stephenson kept swinging the bat like a man locked in. In the fourth inning, he launched a three-run homer that stretched Cincinnati’s lead to 8-4. It was his fifth homer since the All-Star break, and he finished the day reaching base four times.
Andrew Abbott also carved out a notable piece of history despite the chaos around him. After striking out three White Sox hitters, he became just the fourth Red to post 100 or more strikeouts in each of his first four major league seasons, joining Hunter Greene (2022-2025), Johnny Cueto (2008-2011), and Noodles Hahn (1899-1902).
The Reds now head back to GABP for a three-game set against the Miami Marlins starting Friday night. Chase Burns, 13-2 with a 2.61 ERA, will try to bounce back after allowing five runs in fewer than six innings against the Washington Nationals.
Sandy Alcantara, 13-6 with a 3.52 ERA, gets the ball for Miami. First pitch is set for 6:10 p.m., with the game on Reds.TV and 700 WLW.
In Other News...
Hunter Greenes Latest Setback Leaves The Reds Facing A Brutal Reality
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The bigger concern now is how much time Greene will miss and how long the organization will be dealing with the fallout. His contract runs through 2028 with a club option for 2029, so this is not just a short-term setback for the Reds but a major roster and payroll problem layered on top of the baseball loss. Cincinnati has built plenty of its recent outlook around Greenes upside, and the reality is that the club will have to keep moving without him for a while. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Face Huge 2027 Rotation Test Without Hunter Greene
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Chase Burns, Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo give Cincinnati a strong starting point, and Rhett Lowders return from injury has added another encouraging layer. The Reds believe that group can keep them in the mix for a playoff push in 2027, even if Greene is not part of that equation for a while. The question now is how quickly that depth can translate from promise to production. [Read more 🡒]
Rhett Lowder Is Finally Giving Reds Fans A Real Reason To Believe
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Since he returned to starting, the signs have been better. Lowder has put together a 3.22 ERA over his last four starts and has shown improved control, which is exactly the sort of progress Cincinnati needed to see after the rocky start. He has said the time in the bullpen gave him a different view of pitching and game management, and even if the bigger test is still ahead, he is at least giving the Reds reason to think the upside is still very much there. [Read more 🡒]