RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Yahoo Sports — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 1 sources
PHOENIX – If these last few weeks of 2026 mean anything significant for the Cincinnati Reds , it figures to be mostly about what it signals for how they plan to bounce back in 2027.
Which makes the hottest topics on a 114-degree night in the Arizona desert the performances of free agent flier JJ Bleday and young pitcher Rhett Lowder in an 11-5 win over the playoff-hopeful Diamondbacks in Phoenix.
Bleday, the $1.4 million free agent signed in December after being non-tendered by the Athletics, became the eighth player in Reds history to hit for the cycle when he doubled in the first, tripled in the third, singled in the fourth and then lined the first pitch of the sixth inning over the left-field wall.
He's the first to do it since Elly De La Cruz did it in his 15th career game in 2023 and first Red to do it on the road since Heinie Groh in 1915 in Chicago.
In fact, De La Cruz, who went 4-for-6, came up a triple short of making Saturday night's game in Arizona the first in big-league history in which two players hit for the cycle.
Bleday, who was a popular request at the trade deadline, was held onto by the Reds to keep the former first-round draft pick's lefty bat in the lineup into next year's season opener. In his fifth at-bat Saturday, he drove a ball deep to the opposite gap in left, where it was caught by Ryan Waldschmidt after a long run. He went 4-for-6.
But as much as Bleday, De La Cruz and teammates did on this big-slugging night, Lowder, the rookie, looked just as good. Which might be even more important for the Reds' 2027 plans.
Lowder, who missed all of last season with a series of injuries after a dazzling six-start debut in 2024, struggled early this season before spending time on the injured list with shoulder soreness.
But the No. 7 overall pick from the 2023 draft has been especially consistent since rejoining the rotation last month.
After allowing three earned runs in another six-inning start, Lowder has a 3.60 ERA in his last six starts.
On this 92-pitch night, the right-hander gave up a leadoff double in the first but stranded the runner, retiring 11 of the next 12 batters as teammates pounded Mike Soroka for a 6-0 lead heading to the bottom of the fourth.
Lowder pounded the strike zone like a guy pitching with a big lead the rest of his start, eventually handing off a 10-4 game to the pen.
Along the way in this one, the Reds might have offered at least a few other glimpses at 2027 plans, including, of course, De La Cruz, whose 21st home run snuck just inside the right field pole and three or four stories above the wall in the fifth.
Rookie of the Year favorite Sal Stewart went 3-for-6 with a 97th RBI. Rookie Hector Rodriguez reached four times, including his first career home run leading off the seventh.
Luis Mey, the hard-throwing reliever who debuted last year, struck out two more in a scoreless inning, giving him seven straight outings with at least two strikeouts, one shy of the Reds' record by a reliever (done four times, including twice by Aroldis Chapman).
Even long-struggling Matt McLain got involved in this one, two games after finishing a strong homestand with his first career grand slam, McLain had two more hits, including his 13th home run, and drove in two runs.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: JJ Bleday, Reds pound Arizona hard enough to see all the way to 2027
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.