“He threw me a heater, and I took a good swing on it,” Stewart said. ”Just looking for a good pitch to hit, and luckily it happened.”
Stewart, 22 and a supplemental first-round choice in 2022, began the season with a hot bat, then tailed off. He had only two hits last week in six games at Lake County. He fell into the trap of trying to do too much at the plate before lining three singles and a double Tuesday to raise his batting average to .284.
“It’s just about being me,” he said. “I lost myself a little bit, and I got away from what makes me better, what makes me, in my eyes, one of the best here. When you try to do too much, you’re not who you are. My game is middle of the field, and I was trying to pull balls.”
A single by Ruben Ibarra and double by Hector Rodriguez set up Stewart’s big hit with two outs. Meanwhile, the Dragons were riding the 1-2-3 innings of former Reds starter Brandon Williamson, who was on the mound for a rehab start.
When Williamson allowed a double in the third and the runner advanced to third, Stewart made the play of the game at second base. He made a diving stop on a ball up the middle, jumped to his feet and threw out leadoff hitter Thayron Liranzo. Stewart was also the middle man with a quick turn and throw on the sixth-inning double play.
Stewart is a natural third baseman, but he is sharing time there with 2022 first-round pick Cam Collier. When Collier plays third, Stewart plays second.
“I’ve been pushing him to when you play second, I don’t want you to be a third baseman,” Dragons manager Vince Harrison said. “Playing second I need someone to come watch you for the first time and think that’s your natural position. And to his credit, he has definitely bought into that.”
Williamson’s night was over after the third and 38 pitches. Ryan Cardona, who was originally scheduled to start, entered in the fourth inning and allowed a run. After he allowed a leadoff double in the seventh, Harrison went to reliever Vin Timpanelli with one out.
Timpanelli, who hadn’t pitched since last Wednesday, struck out his first batter, hit the next one, then struck out Liranzo looking to end the threat.
“I made a gut decision along with (pitching coach) Brian (Garman) going to Timpanelli,” Harrison said. “Just felt like that was the right time for him, and he picked us up and made us look really smart. It was great to see him get in a ballgame and have a very impactful moment.”
The Dragons (15-19) are tied for fourth place in the East Division, but they have won two straight and three of four. Starting the series off with a win against the Loons (20-14) made for a fun night.
“It sets the tone, and I feel like we haven’t been playing to the best of our abilities,” Stewart said. “I know I had four hits, but you think about winning the game when you’re in a game. Happy we won – I really am.”
The Dragons have one of the youngest teams in all of High-A. Seven Dragons – three 19-year-olds and four 20-year-olds – have yet to face a pitcher younger than them. And the Reds promoted the Dragons’ No. 1 starter, Rhett Lowder, the AA Chattanooga last week.
“As much as we talk about development, if winning didn’t matter, we wouldn’t keep score,” Harrison said. “When you get the W, you hear the music going, everybody’s got better vibes. So it’s always more fun to win, and it’s definitely fun to celebrate when guys realized that they had a big impact on the result of the game.”
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