ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — Rookie Sal Stewart homered, doubled, stole a base and scored twice as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) for their fourth straight win.
Stewart put Cincinnati on the board with a two-run homer in the first inning, ending Jesse Scholtens’ scoreless streak to start the season at 9 2/3 innings.
With his eighth homer, Stewart matched Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox for the lead among major league rookies and St. Louis’ Jordan Walker for the National League lead. Stewart has the rookie lead in RBIs (21) and extra-base hits (13).
The 23-year-old first baseman also snagged a line drive with the bases loaded for the final out.
Rhett Lowder (3-1) needed 33 pitches to get through the first inning, issuing a bases-loaded walk to Yandy Díaz. He settled in from there, allowing five hits and two walks in six innings.
Three relievers worked an inning apiece for Cincinnati. The Reds entered the game with a bullpen ERA of 2.31, the best in the majors.
Scholtens (1-1) allowed five runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.
TJ Friedl doubled in the third and scored on Elly De La Cruz’s single. Eugenio Suárez added a two-run double in the sixth for Cincinnati.
In the seventh, Stewart hit a two-out double, stole third and scored on a wild pitch by Trevor Martin.
Cincinnati’s Ke’Bryan Hayes ended a career-worst 0-for-33 slump with a single in the sixth, ending the longest active streak in the majors. He went 1 for 4 and is batting.071.
Astros 9, Guardians 2
In Cleveland, Isaac Paredes hit his first two home runs of the season and Christian Walker also went deep as the Houston Astros beat the Cleveland Guardians for just their third victory in 15 games.
Walker lined a two-run shot to left-center in the first inning to open the scoring. The first baseman snapped an 0-for-15 slump by going 3 for 5 with three runs.
Paredes broke a 2-all tie with a leadoff homer to left field in the fourth that sparked a four-run inning. His first longball of the year came in his 76th plate appearance. Paredes, who homered at least 19 times in each of the last four seasons, added a solo shot in the eighth to close the scoring.
Paredes and Carlos Correa each had three hits. Correa’s two-run single capped the fourth-inning outburst and put the Astros in front 6-2.
Spencer Arrighetti (2-0) pitched five innings and gave up two runs, five hits and four walks while striking out three. The Astros are 9-15 after beginning the season with a 6-3 mark.
Slade Cecconi (0-3) was tagged for seven runs (six earned) in five innings. Brayan Rocchio went 3 for 3 with a walk for the Guardians, who had won three of four.
Astros center fielder Taylor Trammell exited in the third inning after injuring his left groin while running the bases. Houston infielder Nick Allen (mid-back spasms) was placed on the 10-day injured list before the game.
