Spencer Steer is not leading the Cincinnati Reds in many statistical categories this season, but his value can’t be underestimated.
Steer has proved to be versatile for the Reds, who will continue their three-game series against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday afternoon in Denver.
Steer sparked the Reds to a 7-2 win on Friday with a two-run homer and an inside-the-park solo home run.
Elly De La Cruz went 4-for-5 with a solo homer, and Eugenio Suarez homered in his third straight contest for Cincinnati, which has won 17 of its last 20 games against Colorado since June 19, 2023, including seven straight wins at Coors Field.
Willi Castro homered for National League-worst Colorado (39-60), which has lost five of its last six games.
“We feel like we’re a winning baseball club,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “We’ve come up short more than we wanted to, and we want to come out on top more going forward.”
Steer has played six different positions for the Reds this season. He has been equally valuable at the plate, batting .250 with 16 homers and 40 RBIs.
“I think he’s just a really good baseball player,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “He’s not the fastest guy on our team, but he gets himself in position. He got that (inside-the-park homer on Friday) coming out of the box.”
Steer is one of several Cincinnati players who could be on the move ahead of the trade deadline on Aug. 3, but he said it’s not something he worries about.
“I’m going to show up and play my butt off every day, wherever that is in the field and for whatever team it is,” Steer said. “It’s so out of my control that I’ve got to focus on where my feet are.”
The pitching matchup for Saturday’s game will feature a pair of right-handers in Colorado’s Tomoyuki Sugano (8-4, 4.80 ERA) and Cincinnati’s Rhett Lowder (3-6, 4.91).
Sugano, 36, is expected to be activated from the injured list (back spasms) to make his first start since June 26, when he allowed seven runs over five innings in a no-decision against the Minnesota Twins. Colorado lost 9-8 in 10 innings.
Sugano will make his second career start vs. Cincinnati. He threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings in a 13-2 road win on April 29.
Cincinnati will counter with Lowder, who is returning to the rotation and taking the place of Nick Lodolo, who is on the 15-day injured list with a blister on his left index finger.
Lowder, 24, will pitch for the first time since tossing two scoreless innings in relief in his team’s 8-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs last Sunday. He is set to make his first start since June 30, when he allowed six runs over 4 2/3 innings in a 7-2 road defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Lowder will face Colorado for the first time in his career.
The Rockies are looking to bounce back after being outhit 11-6 on Friday. Schaeffer is exercising patience with shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who went 0-for-3 and is batting .198 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs this season.
“I’m still working, trying my best to turn the page, and be better, and help the team the most I can,” Tovar said. … Just believe in God and believe in myself.”
–Field Level Media
