SAN DIEGO (Interstat) — Sal Stewart launched a two-run home run in the top of the 11th inning Tuesday night, lifting the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-3 victory over the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park.

The game was a taut, extra-inning affair that saw both teams squander scoring opportunities before the Reds finally seized control. Cincinnati, which had lost four of its previous five games, improved to 32-34 while the Padres fell to 34-32. The attendance was 40,469 and the game time was 3 hours, 48 minutes.

The Reds struck first in the second inning. Matt McLain walked and scored on a line-drive single to center by Tyler Stephenson. Cincinnati added another run in the third, capitalizing on a Padres miscue. JJ Bleday singled and Sal Stewart walked. Nathaniel Lowe also walked to load the bases. Spencer Steer then reached on a fielder’s choice that allowed Bleday to score, aided by a fielding error by Padres starter Lucas Giolito.

San Diego answered in the bottom of the third. Fernando Tatis Jr. singled and Jackson Merrill followed with a triple to right-center, scoring Tatis. Manny Machado then grounded a single to left, plating Merrill and tying the game at 2-2.

The score remained deadlocked through the middle innings as both bullpens worked effectively. Cincinnati’s Chase Burns, Brock Burke, and Caleb Ferguson combined for scoreless frames, while Padres relievers Adrian Morejon and Jeremiah Estrada kept the Reds off the board.

In the sixth, the Reds threatened again. Edwin Arroyo singled and Blake Dunn singled to put runners at the corners with one out, but Bleday struck out on a foul tip to end the inning. The Padres put two on in the sixth as well, but a double play erased the threat.

The eighth inning brought another tense moment for San Diego. Machado led off with a double, moved to third on a groundout, and Ty France was intentionally walked. But Caleb Ferguson struck out Samad Taylor and got Jase Bowen to fly out, preserving the tie.

The Padres loaded the bases in the ninth against reliever Tony Santillan and Sam Moll. With one out, Sung-Mun Song singled, Tatis Jr. singled, and Merrill beat out a soft ground ball to load the bases. But Machado and Gavin Sheets both struck out swinging, sending the game to extra innings.

In the top of the 10th, the Reds broke through. With the automatic runner on second, Eugenio Suárez doubled to left, scoring the runner and giving Cincinnati a 3-2 lead. The Padres answered in the bottom half. Ty France struck out, but Samad Taylor singled to center, scoring the automatic runner and tying the game again at 3-3. The inning ended when Freddy Fermin flied out.

Then came the decisive 11th. Blake Dunn started the inning on second base as the automatic runner. After Bleday flied out, Stewart crushed a 1-0 pitch from Yuki Matsui over the center-field wall for his 13th homer of the season, scoring Dunn and giving the Reds a 5-3 lead. Stewart finished 1 for 4 with two RBIs.

The Padres mounted a threat in the bottom of the 11th. With one out, Freddy Fermin walked as the automatic runner, and Tatis Jr. grounded out to advance him to third. But Merrill flied out to center, ending the game.

Tejay Antone earned the win, pitching a scoreless 10th inning with one hit allowed and two strikeouts. He improved to 1-0. Yuki Matsui took the loss, falling to 0-1 after allowing Stewart’s homer. Zach Maxwell recorded the save, his first of the season, by retiring three batters in the 11th.

Key offensive contributions for Cincinnati included Suárez’s double and an RBI, Stephenson’s single and an RBI, and Dunn’s single and a run scored. Dane Myers, batting as a pinch-hitter and later playing center field, went 1 for 3. For San Diego, Tatis Jr. had three hits, including a double, and scored once. Merrill had two hits, including a triple and an RBI, and Machado had two hits with an RBI.

The game featured a combined 20 hits, with the Padres outhitting the Reds 12-8 but unable to capitalize in critical situations. Cincinnati’s bullpen allowed just one earned run over 5 1/3 innings. The Reds’ defense turned two double plays, including a key 3-2-3 twin killing in the sixth that snuffed out a Padres rally.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of San Diego 3, Cincinnati 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave San Diego a 59 percent probability to win. Cincinnati had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of eight runs went over the over-under line of 7.5.

The series concludes Wednesday as the Reds look to take the two-game set. Cincinnati returns home Friday to open a series against Arizona, while San Diego travels to Baltimore for a weekend series.