Brito's Three-Run Blast Ignites Reds' Five-Run Second, 7-3
Cincinnati trailed 3-0 after one inning and still won by four — that's how thoroughly the Reds dismantled San Diego on September 2. Juan Brito's three-run homer in the second inning was the pivot point, swinging Cincinnati's win probability from 23% all the way to 42% in a single swing.
San Diego looked like the sharper team early. Ty France launched a 353-foot shot to left in the first, scoring Fernando Tatis Jr. and putting the Padres up 2-0. Tatis Jr. then singled to left in the second to score Hays, pushing it to 3-0, and Casey Mize appeared to have things under control. He didn't. The second inning unraveled fast. Brito stepped in and drove a 360-foot homer to right, scoring Stephenson and Myers to tie it at 3. Before San Diego could exhale, Hector Rodríguez followed with a 371-foot shot to right center — solo, but it gave Cincinnati a 4-3 lead it would never relinquish. That's four runs in one inning, all without a single San Diego answer. The story of the night was how completely the Reds' lineup buried Mize: he lasted just 4.0 innings, allowing 5 hits and 4 earned runs before Cincinnati's bullpen locked the door.
Brandon Williamson wasn't sharp — 7 hits and 3 earned runs over 5.1 innings is a grind — but he held on long enough for the offense to take over. Tejay Antone and Tony Santillan each threw a clean inning of relief, combining for 2.0 scoreless frames with just two hits allowed between them. That kind of bullpen efficiency matters when you're protecting a slim lead.
JJ Bleday put the game away in the seventh. With Cincinnati already ahead 5-3 following a sixth-inning sacrifice fly, Bleday launched a 416-foot two-run homer to right — the longest ball of the night — scoring De La Cruz and making it 7-3. Bleday finished 3-for-4 with a homer, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored, and looks like the most complete offensive performer on either side Wednesday. Dane Myers quietly went 3-for-4 as well, scoring once and appearing in two of Cincinnati's biggest rallies. France and Tatis Jr. each went 2-for-4 for San Diego, but the Padres' offense went completely silent after the third inning — not a single run from the second inning on. That kind of shutdown, combined with Cincinnati's power display across three different home run hitters, makes this one look less like a close game that flipped and more like a statement.