Sal Stewart does it again

For the first time in years, the Cincinnati Reds have a hitter who’s even better than Elly De La Cruz.

On Monday night, the St. Louis Cardinals decided to pitch to Elly De La Cruz with a runner on second base in the 10th inning so that they’d have the flexibility to intentionally walk Sal Stewart (De La Cruz ended up delivering the walk-off hit). On Wednesday night, with the Reds up by two runs and a runner on third, the Cardinals intentionally walked Stewart.

“He just keeps delivering,” veteran outfielder TJ Friedl said. “That’s the biggest thing. He’s always up in those moments. He delivers time and time again. There’s a lot of respect for him, who he is and his presence in the box.”

Earlier in the game on Wednesday, Stewart hit the decisive three-run homer that led the Reds to a 5-4 victory. He leads the entire league in RBI, and he’s on pace to finish the year with 36 homers. Stewart leads the Reds in hits, doubles, homers and OPS, and he’s tied with De La Cruz for the team lead in batting average.

“Sal is doing a phenomenal job of being a cornerstone of this offense,” Friedl said. “He’s just so consistent. He’s the same guy every day. That’s what makes him such a great hitter. He enjoys the big moments. It’s fun to watch. Any time it’s a big moment and he’s in the box, you know he’s going to get the job done. A lot of poise.”

When teams face the Reds now, it feels like Stewart is the name that’s circled as the biggest threat in the Reds’ order. It’s the first time since De La Cruz’s rookie season that another hitter has demanded more attention than the Reds’ franchise shortstop. Hypothetically, with the game on the line, Stewart is the Reds’ hitter you want up at the plate.

“He’s a really good hitter,” Terry Francona said. “I know he relishes those opportunities. Thankfully, he does.”

That’s no slight on De La Cruz, who will be on MVP ballots this season. He’s in a bit of a slump now, but he has had an exceptional season. He’s a very productive hitter, and he’s extremely valuable on the bases and at a premium defensive position at shortstop. But this year, Stewart has simply been a better hitter than De La Cruz has been.

Just like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, De La Cruz and Stewart make each other’s lives easier.

There are a lot of reasons why the Reds have a 61-66 record with playoff chances that look very slim. Especially of late, you’ve felt how topheavy the Reds’ lineup is and how much the offense is overreliant on Stewart and De La Cruz. With De La Cruz going through some struggles recently and with Stewart’s power production down over the last couple of weeks (up until Wednesday’s game), the Reds have scored two runs or fewer in six of their last 12 games.

“There was a lot of frustration,” Stewart said. “We haven’t been playing the way we’re capable of, starting with myself. I could have been better, setting the tone more. It was exciting to put some runs on the board (today). We’ve been busting our tails. I trust these guys.”

As Stewart meets with the media, Dane Myers shouts, “God bless the Rookie of the Year.”

With his three-run homer that beat the Cardinals on Wednesday, Stewart became the third-fastest Red by games (145) to reach 100 career RBI since RBI became an official stat in 1920. The guys who reached that milestone quicker than Stewart did with the Reds played in the 1940s and the 1950s.

Stewart’s 94 RBI this season are also second-most by any Reds rookie in a season since the stat became official in 1920, and he’s well on pace to beat the record of 100 that was set in 1953.

No stat better sums up Stewart’s prolific rookie year than his RBI total.

“That’s a stat the people don’t value as much anymore,” Francona said on Tuesday. “I look up at that all the time. Me and (Reds bench coach) Freddie (Benavides) look at that wRC+ on the board. There are a lot of players that have a wRC+ higher than Sal. One guy had 19 RBIs. I don’t get it. There’s something to be said for a guy that’s got (12) stolen bases, (27) home runs and (94) RBI. That’s pretty damn good.”