Sal Stewart powers Reds with team-leading 16th homer, but Milwaukee beats Cincinnati 7-2

Milwaukee handed the Reds a 7-2 loss on Tuesday night, but one bright spot emerged for Cincinnati: rookie Sal Stewart continued to make an impact at the plate. Stewart opened the scoring for the Reds with a solo home run in the first inning, then added an extra-base hit later, doubling in the sixth to help push the Reds’ offense along in a game where scoring opportunities were limited.

According to the official game report from MLB, Stewart’s first-inning homer was his team-leading 16th of the season and came against Brewers starter Brandon Sproat. The drive set a tone early, giving Cincinnati an immediate spark even as the rest of the lineup struggled to string together sustained production against Milwaukee’s pitching.

In the sixth inning, Stewart again registered a quality at-bat. The report says he doubled off Sproat, extending the Reds’ efforts to reach the middle innings in a game that otherwise slipped away. That double ultimately helped create Cincinnati’s other run of the night, with the team producing only one additional scoring play beyond Stewart’s first-inning homer.

The final score reflected how quickly the Brewers separated from the Reds after the early momentum swung. Milwaukee put together enough offense to control the tempo, while Cincinnati’s scoring remained concentrated in Stewart’s two offensive contributions. With the game’s run production so top-heavy, Stewart’s night stood out not because the Reds won, but because it showed how little daylight Cincinnati’s hitters were able to find.

Stewart’s performance matters for Cincinnati for a straightforward reason: when a rookie can reliably reach base and put runs on the board, the team gains a consistent offensive reference point. A team-leading home run total, paired with extra-base production in the same outing, gives the Reds a centerpiece around which they can build lineup stability, particularly in games where other bats have difficulty finding rhythm.

For Milwaukee, the game underscores the value of getting ahead early and then keeping pressure on an opponent once it falls behind. The Brewers were able to limit Cincinnati’s overall scoring, even with Stewart producing the kind of damage that can change the feel of a game. Going forward, the next step for the Reds is clear: convert more of their at-bats into multi-run threats so that Stewart’s impact does not become the only answer on the scoreboard.