{"id":661942,"date":"2026-04-04T01:49:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T01:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/661942\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T01:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T01:49:16","slug":"tyler-stephenson-shows-why-hes-a-difference-maker-in-reds-win-over-rangers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/661942\/","title":{"rendered":"Tyler Stephenson Shows Why He\u2019s a Difference Maker in Reds Win Over Rangers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Much of the talk after the Reds dropped two games against the Pittsburgh Pirates was about how much their offense has struggled and how guys like Spencer Steer and Tyler Stephenson need to step up. <\/p>\n

On Thursday, the duo did exactly that. <\/p>\n

Spencer Steer gave the Reds an early lead with a two-run home run in the second inning off Rangers starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore that scored Eugenio Suarez. <\/p>\n

After the Rangers tied the game up at two, Elly De La Cruz took Gore deep in the sixth to give Cincinnati a one-run lead. <\/p>\n

The Rangers once again tied the game in the seventh after back-to-back extra-base hits by Brandon Ninmo and Wyatt Langford.<\/p>\n

However, in the ninth, it was the duo of Steer and Stephenson’s turn once again. The Reds needed this win and they delivered. <\/p>\n

Steer started the inning by ripping an 0-2 splitter into the gap for a double. Next, Tyler Stephenson worked an eight pitch at-bat and hit the eighth pitch over the right field wall to give the Reds a 5-3 lead. <\/p>\n

After the game, Stephenson said he was just trying to do his job and move Steer over to third. <\/p>\n

“Just trying to get the job done, get Spence over,” he told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon.<\/a> “[Martin] kind of made a mistake out over [the plate] and I was able to drive it out. Just happy with that swing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steer felt like he finally contributed to a win.<\/p>\n

“I felt like I haven\u2019t really done much to help this team win. It\u2019s good to contribute to a win today,” he said. \u201cBeginning of the season, all the stats and everything, it\u2019s magnified.<\/p>\n

Emilio Pagan worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to nail down the save. <\/p>\n

Cincinnati’s Depth Finally Comes Through \"Red\"<\/p>\n

Mar 12, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Cincinnati Reds outfielder Spencer Steer against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Steer and Stephenson were hitting sixth and seventh in the lineup on Friday. While they’ve struggled to start the season, that speaks to the depth of their offense. <\/p>\n

Stephenson, in particular, is a difference maker. The Reds value Jose Trevino for his leadership and the way he handles a pitching staff, but Stephenson\u2019s bat is what can elevate this lineup. When he\u2019s going well, he\u2019s one of the best offensive catchers in the game.<\/p>\n

Reds manager Terry Francona spoke after the game about trusting his guys and not making rash decisions because of early struggles. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no fun living through it. I know they don\u2019t like it either,” manager Terry Francona said. “But I think you can make some bad mistakes if you make some judgments too early on, because they\u2019re good players.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Much of the talk after the Reds dropped two games against the Pittsburgh Pirates was about how much…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661943,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2393],"tags":[5,4,149,1567,69,3240],"class_list":{"0":"post-661942","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas-rangers","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-rangers","11":"tag-texas","12":"tag-texas-rangers","13":"tag-texasrangers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116343929545918816","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}