SEATTLE \u2014\u00a0When Cincinnati Reds rookie Sal Stewart checked into the team\u2019s Seattle hotel Sunday night, he wasn\u2019t sure how to operate the blinds on the window.<\/p>\n
Stewart first called teammate Nick Lodolo, but Lodolo didn\u2019t answer. Then Stewart called someone he knew would answer: veteran starter Brady Singer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could text him at any point of the day, and he answers,\u201d Stewart said of Singer, who not only picked up when Stewart called, but also told him how to operate the blinds.<\/p>\n
Stewart repaid Singer on Wednesday with a three-run home run in the seventh inning to lead the Reds to a 5-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners and help deliver Singer his fifth win of the season.<\/p>\n
Sal Stewart has feasted on fastballs during his fast start for the Reds<\/p>\n
Derek VanRiper, Eno Sarris & Jed Lowrie<\/p>\n
Singer\u2019s reliability \u2014 not just for answering rookies\u2019 questions about window coverings \u2014 has been his calling card for most of his big-league career. He\u2019s made at least 24 starts in each of his five previous seasons and has logged more than 150 innings in the last four.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we love that he does is he posts every five days, and when he\u2019s going, you look up in the sixth or seventh, and you generally have a chance to win,\u201d Reds manager Terry Francona said. \u201cHe\u2019s not going to wow you with throwing it (100 mph), but he takes a lot of pride in taking the ball. And there\u2019s a lot to be said for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Reds traded for Singer after the 2024 season to do exactly what he\u2019s done \u2014 be a steady influence on the team\u2019s young starters and to take the ball every five days.<\/p>\n
An impending free agent, Singer is the type of pitcher that every team can use: a solid starter who will pitch without complaint and, more often than not, give his team a chance to win the game.<\/p>\n
Over the last six weeks, though, he\u2019s been more than that. Since June 1, Singer has made nine starts and gone 2-3 with a 2.94 ERA. He has 52 strikeouts and 16 walks over 52 1\/3 innings in that timeframe.<\/p>\n
Wednesday, Singer allowed three runs on six hits with six strikeouts and a walk in 6 2\/3 innings. It was his third consecutive quality start, his best streak since a career-best nine last August and September.<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s start came after a dominant outing in Denver to open the second half. Against the Colorado Rockies, Singer had nine swings-and-misses on his sweeper and got three strikeouts on the pitch. Wednesday in Seattle, he threw just nine sweepers in total, but found success with his slider. He got seven whiffs and two strikeouts on the pitch against the Mariners.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe kind of just overlay both of them \u2014 we think about a shorter one at this time might be better, or a bigger sweeper like that (in Colorado),\u201d Singer said. \u201cBut I like throwing both of them. They both work kind of off each other and (catcher Tyler Stephenson) does a great job of calling them in good spots.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year Singer was a rock in the rotation as the Reds battled back over the final month to reach the playoffs. This year he\u2019s battled a blister on his finger out of spring training and at least two batted balls off of his body. Singer has pitched through it all, stone-faced and uncomplaining, even when a comebacker earlier this year left an imprint of its stitches on his leg. Singer\u2019s stoicism is such a staple that during a postgame interview Wednesday, his teammates caught him smiling and started shouting in the background.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got him smiling on camera!\u201d reliever Pierce Johnson shouted before Singer went back to his regular deadpan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel good,\u201d Singer said. \u201cThe arm feels good. Body feels great. But I\u2019m just trying to go out there and give us a chance and feel good where I am right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Singer will turn 30 on Aug. 4, the day after the trade deadline. At 47-54, the Reds are sellers as the deadline approaches, and Singer is one of several players on expiring contracts who could get moved, along with Stephenson, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, third baseman Eugenio Su\u00e1rez<\/a> and left-handed relievers Brock Burke and Caleb Ferguson.<\/p>\n Singer has postseason experience, pitching out of the Kansas City Royals\u2019 bullpen in 2024. For most playoff teams, Singer may not crack the postseason rotation, but he\u2019ll help them get there.<\/p>\n \u201cBrady\u2019s awesome,\u201d Stewart said after Wednesday\u2019s game. \u201cHe\u2019s been clutch for us. I\u2019m happy that I was able to give him that boost if he needed it, but he was looking too sharp, so he didn\u2019t need anything. I\u2019m just happy that we got the win.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEATTLE \u2014\u00a0When Cincinnati Reds rookie Sal Stewart checked into the team\u2019s Seattle hotel Sunday night, he wasn\u2019t sure…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":818020,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,5257,591,85],"class_list":["post-818019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cincinnati-reds","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=818019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/818020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=818019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=818019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}