Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona said he liked the club’s all-around depth coming out of spring training, and that depth proved decisive in the second game of 2026.
Francona managed the game in textbook fashion through nine innings against the Boston Red Sox on March 28 at Great American Ball Park. But when 11 innings were required to get past Boston, Francona had ample options off his bench for both defensive and offensive purposes.
Francona said he and bench coach Freddie Benavides had planned for seemingly every eventuality, and said his maneuvers against Boston were made with defense in mind.
For instance, the hot-hitting Sal Stewart was removed for the top of the ninth inning for defensive purposes. By the 11th inning, Dane Myers was batting in Stewart’s No. 4 spot in the lineup and had the game-winning hit.
“Dane’s a great player and there’s a reason we went out to get him, so, what a big hit coming off the bench,” Stewart said. “I was cheering him on. That’s ‘Tito’s’ choice. Obviously, I’d love to be out there because I’m a competitor and I want to win but that’s not my job, nor my decision, so I was cheering for Dane.”
Spencer Steer played three different positions in the game, and moved from left field to first base for the ninth and 10th innings. Then, Steer moved to third base for the top of the 11th after Nathaniel Lowe, a first baseman by trade, hit for Gold Glove-third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes in an unsuccessful 10th inning.
Francona said he wanted to consult with Steer about moving to third base, which is not a common spot for him in most conceivable defensive alignments for the team. But, Francona said, Steer was willing, and that provided Francona with a sense of confidence.
Also, Noelvi Marte, the club’s preferred but still-green right fielder, was able to enter the game late in favor of the left-handed Will Benson.
In sum, it’s too early for sweeping statements about what the Reds’ depth could mean over the long haul of 162 game, but the early returns have been promising.
“We’ve got dangerous bats on the bench. Dane Myers came off — he’s been sitting on the bench for four hours and it’s cold and he comes off the bench and he comes up with the winning knock,” Steer said. “But Nate smoked that ball. That’s a dangerous bat coming off the bench. It’s exciting when you have matchups that you can play like that.
“And Noelvi getting that at-bat there at the end, too. We’ve got a bench that we can really use. And it’s dangerous bats.”
First victory didn’t come easily for Reds
The Reds prevailed over the Boston Red Sox on March 28, 6-5, in an 11-inning thriller at Great American Ball Park. Reliever Connor Phillips retired all five batters he faced in the 10th and 11th innings to earn the win, and Dane Myers provided the game-winning hit as T.J. Friedl scored from second base.
Boston’s Wilyer Abreu homered with two outs in the top of the ninth inning off Reds closer Emilio Pagán, knotting the game at five. Cincinnati led 4-1 earlier in the contest, and later at 5-3, but failed to score in the ninth and 10th innings.
Starting the season 1-0 in extra-inning games was an early improvement on the club’s 2025 3-12 record in extras. Last year, the Reds dropped their first few extra-innings games and didn’t claim one until June.
The Sunday, March 29 series finale at Great American Ball Park (1:40 p.m. EDT) will decide the series. Cincinnati’s Rhett Lowder is scheduled to start against Red Sox lefty Connelly Early.
With first baseman Sal Stewart (2-for-4, walk, two RBI) igniting the Cincinnati Reds’ offense early, Cincinnati was on the front foot from the start of the contest. Stewart knocked in the first run of the year for Cincinnati in the bottom of the first inning. Come the third inning, Stewart swatted a 399-foot solo home run to mark the club’s first homer of the campaign.
Reds starting pitcher Brady Singer was lifted after a fourth inning in which he allowed two runs, and had run his pitch count up to 74. One of the two fourth-inning runs scored on a wild pitch.
Cincinnati got after Boston starter and former Red Sonny Gray early, posting two runs in the bottom of the first. Stewart joined Eugenio Suárez in driving in a run.
Elly De La Cruz clapped a solo home run in the fifth inning for a 5-3 lead.
The Red Sox pulled to within a run in the seventh inning and had the go-ahead run aboard in the eighth against Tony Santillan. Pagán came on and struck out Trevor Story, who homered to put the Red Sox on the scoreboard earlier, to end the frame.
Story argued the third strike call, potentially due to a check swing, and Boston manager Alex Cora intervened before eventually being thrown out of the contest by home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor.
Bucknor faced eight Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenges in the game, and the Red Sox spent theirs innings before the Cora-Bucknor exchange. Six of the eight challenges resulted in overturned calls, and the Reds went 6-for-6 on challenges.
The Red Sox eventually got the run they needed from Abreu to force extras, though. And Boston closer Aroldis Chapman theatrically shut Cincinnati down in its half of the ninth. He smiled and gestured to the Reds’ dugout when Spencer Steer’s long fly ball fell just short of the left field wall. He then appeared to stare toward the Cincinnati dugout as he walked off the mound following an inning-ending strikeout of Noelvi Marte.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How the Reds’ depth prevailed in first victory of 2026
Reporting by Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
