CINCINNATI (Interstat) — Sal Stewart drove in five runs with a home run and three hits, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 9-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds improved to 18-9 with their second straight win over the Tigers, who fell to 14-14. Cincinnati has now won seven of its last nine games, while Detroit has dropped four of its past five.

Stewart’s three-run homer in the first inning highlighted a four-run outburst that put the Reds ahead to stay. The first baseman finished 3 for 4 with a double, a walk and five RBIs, his biggest output of the season after an 0-for-4 performance in Friday’s 9-8 win over the same opponent.

Brady Singer earned the win, allowing two runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings with three strikeouts. Singer improved to 2-1. Jack Flaherty took the loss, falling to 0-2 after surrendering six runs on five hits and three walks over 1 2/3 innings.

Detroit grabbed an early lead when Kevin McGonigle led off the game with a home run to center field, his second of the season. The Tigers added another run in the fourth on Spencer Torkelson’s solo homer, but that was all they could muster against Singer and a parade of Reds relievers.

Cincinnati answered immediately in the bottom of the first. After TJ Friedl struck out and Matt McLain walked, Elly De La Cruz also walked to put two runners on. Stewart then crushed a 1-0 pitch to left field for his ninth home run, scoring McLain and De La Cruz. Nathaniel Lowe followed with a solo homer to right, his third, making it 4-2.

The Reds extended the lead in the second. Ke’Bryan Hayes led off with a double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Friedl, and scored on De La Cruz’s two-run homer to left-center, his ninth of the year. The blast gave Cincinnati a 6-2 advantage.

Detroit threatened in the third when McGonigle singled and Riley Greene singled, but Dillon Dingler grounded out to end the inning. The Tigers put two runners on again in the fourth after Torkelson’s homer and a single by Wenceel Pérez, but Javier Báez struck out and McGonigle flew out.

Cincinnati broke the game open in the sixth. Hayes singled and Friedl singled, putting runners at first and second with one out. After McLain flied out, De La Cruz walked to load the bases. Stewart then singled to right field, with the ball deflected by second baseman Báez, scoring Hayes and Friedl. A walk to Lowe reloaded the bases, but Spencer Steer grounded into a double play to limit the damage to two runs and make it 8-2.

Friedl added a solo homer in the eighth, his first of the season, to cap the scoring.

The Reds’ bullpen held Detroit scoreless over the final 3 2/3 innings. Emilio Pagán worked a scoreless seventh, allowing one hit. Connor Phillips struck out one in two-thirds of an inning in the eighth, and Graham Ashcraft pitched a perfect ninth with one strikeout.

For the Tigers, Drew Anderson pitched 2 2/3 innings of relief, allowing one run on one hit while striking out five. Burch Smith tossed two scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out three.

McGonigle was the top hitter for Detroit, going 3 for 5 with a home run, a double and an RBI. Riley Greene added two hits, and Colt Keith, Kerry Carpenter and Wenceel Pérez each had one.

Cincinnati matched Detroit with 10 hits. Friedl went 3 for 4 with a double, a homer and an RBI. Stewart had three hits and five RBIs. De La Cruz reached base three times with a homer, a walk and two RBIs. Hayes doubled and scored twice.

Detroit grounded into two double plays, including a critical one in the seventh inning after McGonigle had doubled and Matt Vierling walked. Colt Keith grounded into a double play started by Ashcraft to erase the threat. The Tigers also grounded into a double play in the eighth.

The game drew an announced crowd of 35,315 and lasted 2 hours, 57 minutes.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cincinnati 7, Detroit 6. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Reds a 52.30 percent probability to win. Detroit was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 11 went under the over/under line of 9.5.