Newcomers helping Reds offense find a higher gear

AL EastBlue JaysOriolesRaysRed SoxYankeesAL CentralGuardiansRoyalsTigersTwinsWhite SoxAL WestAngelsAstrosAthleticsMarinersRangersNL EastBravesMarlinsMetsNationalsPhilliesNL CentralBrewersCardinalsCubsPiratesRedsNL WestDiamondbacksDodgersGiantsPadresRockiesScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsThe Windup NewsletterFantasyMLB ProspectsMLB OddsMLB PicksPower RankingsFans Speak UpTop ProspectsMLB Season JJ Bleday and Nathaniel Lowe each homered in Sunday's game against Detroit. Frank Bowen IV / The Enquirer via Imagn Images Share articleCINCINNATI — After walking in his first plate appearance as a Cincinnati Red on Sunday, outfielder JJ Bleday was stopped on his way to left field by third-base umpire Laz Diaz to congratulate the 28-year-old on his return to the big leagues. After homering in his second plate appearance, Bleday got a round of applause from the fans in the left-field stands. “I’ve never really experienced that in my career,” said Bleday, whose previous stops were with the Miami Marlins and the Athletics in both Oakland and Sacramento. “It’s cool being in a town where they really like their sports and to get acknowledged. That was awesome.” Bleday’s fourth-inning homer was his first in the big leagues since Sept. 6 of last season and the 50th of his career. It also tied the game before the Reds’ bullpen gave up six runs in an 8-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers. For a Reds team that has been searching for offense outside the middle of the order, Bleday carrying his hot start at Triple A to the big leagues could help stabilize a lineup that is showing signs of turning around. Even with Sunday’s loss, the Reds put up 21 runs in the three-game series win over Detroit, two more than the team has scored in any series this season. The Reds hit 10 home runs in the series, including four from Nathaniel Lowe. “The ballpark played smaller — it was noticeable,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “I see why (pitching coach Derek Johnson) gets nervous. The ball goes out to right and you hold your breath.” Entering the weekend series against the Tigers, 11 of the team’s 27 home runs were by players other than Elly De La Cruz or Sal Stewart, the team’s third and fourth hitters in the lineup. Against the Tigers, both De La Cruz and Stewart had a home run, but so did four other players. At least one Reds hitter recorded his first home run of the season in each of the three games of the series — Lowe on Friday, TJ Friedl on Saturday and Bleday in Sunday’s series finale. Bleday and Lowe were among the final roster decisions for the Reds as the team broke camp. Both are left-handed hitters, and the Reds went with Lowe (and outfielder Will Benson) as left-handed bench players, while Noelvi Marte edged Rece Hinds for the right-handed outfield spot. The fourth pick in the 2019 draft out of Vanderbilt, Bleday hit 20 home runs for the Athletics in 2024, but struggled to find his stroke last year, hitting .212 with 14 home runs. The A’s non-tendered him in November, and the Reds signed him to a one-year deal just before the new year. This spring, he hit .317/.364/.683 with four homers and 11 RBIs in 15 Cactus League games. “I think we feel like he can help us,” Francona said of Bleday. “We just didn’t want him to have that last bench spot when we started the year because we wanted him to play.” That bench spot went instead to Lowe, who signed a minor-league deal with the Reds in February. “I think he even told us, ‘I played my way into this role,'” Francona said. “Being that self-aware (is unique.) He said, ‘I’m going to play myself back.'” So far, he’s done that, providing a spark off the bench when he’s gotten his chance and then stepping into the designated hitter spot after Eugenio Suárez was scratched from Friday’s lineup and put on the injured list with an oblique injury Saturday. Taking over the DH spot from Suárez on Friday, Lowe hit his first home run of the season against Tigers reliever Kyle Finnegan and then hit a walk-off winner in the ninth. He went deep again Saturday and Sunday. “He feels good about himself, he knows he’s getting an opportunity, and he’s trying to make the most of it,” Francona said. “He’s seeing the ball pretty well.” Unlike Lowe, the Reds saw Bleday as a possible everyday outfielder. He showed that in spring and then followed it up in Triple-A Louisville, hitting .341/.462/.659 with six home runs, seven doubles, 19 RBIs and 18 walks in 24 games. When Suárez went on the IL before Saturday’s game, Bleday got the call to report to Cincinnati. Francona said he consulted Louisville manager Pat Kelly before the call-up. “He was very complimentary,” Francona said. “He said (Bleday) can certainly hit fastballs, which we’ve seen. But he said he’s been a good base runner, good defender, and said he’s been a really good teammate. That’s saying something when you’re disappointed and you get sent back, you like to see guys handle it like that.” Bleday acknowledged his disappointment at not making the team, but as a player who had gone up and down from the big leagues before, he knew what he had to do to return. “You can’t let it get to you. You’ve got to be patient,” Bleday said. “You’ve just got to go about your business the right way. I was proud of how I handled that, and I’m going to let it play out.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms