Instant Reaction: Tyler Stephenson's Late Home Run Powers Reds Past Padres

The Cincinnati Reds (73-72) beat the San Diego Padres (79-65) 4-2 on Tuesday night at Petco Park.

Here are our postgame takeaways:

Home Runs Power Cincinnati Offense

Will Benson and Sal Stewart, two players who have not been playing every day, hit solo home runs in the first two innings on Tuesday night to give Cincinnati an early lead. It was Stewart's second big league home run and Benson's 10th of the season. It was Benson's first start since August 1.

After Fernando Tatis Jr. robbed a home run from him earlier in the game, Tyler Stephenson came up in a tie game with a man on first and two outs in the ninth inning and blasted a two-run home run into the left field seats to give Cincinnati a 4-2 lead. It was Stephenson's 10th home run of the season.

Littell's Quality Start

Zack Littell has struggled lately, but he pitched well on Tuesday night. The right-hander gave up just two runs on two hits over six innings. He walked a batter and struck out four.

Bullpen Shuts it Down

The Reds turned to two young relievers to keep the game tied after Littell left the game. Zach Maxwell pitched a scoreless seventh inning, and Connor Phillips struck out two batters in a scoreless eighth inning.

Emilio Pagan closed it down in the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning.

Up Next

The Reds and Padres will play the series finale on Wednesday at 8:40 ET. Andrew Abbott will start on the mound for Cincinnati.

News and Notes

Three of the Reds' five hits were home runs.
The Reds were 0-2 with runners in scoring position.
The Reds are now three games back of the third and final National League Wild Card spot.

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