Stephenson uses 'dad strength,' leads outburst alongside De La Cruz

MIAMI -- Ever since Tyler Stephenson became a first-time father at the beginning of July, his teammates and coaches have been teasing him about “dad strength.”

So of course, just over a month after his wife, Carlyn, gave birth to their daughter, it was Stephenson who opened the scoring in the second inning of the Reds’ 8-2 win over the Marlins on Tuesday night, crushing his career-high 14th homer of the season to give Cincinnati a lead it did not relinquish.

Three innings later, Ty France crushed his second homer in as many games as he settles into his role with his new team. As a whole, the Reds have hit 12 homers in their past four games and 17 in their past eight.

Not to be outdone, Elly De La Cruz -- who, in the opener, joined the 20/50 club for the first time in his young career -- racked up four hits for the second straight game while also scoring twice. De La Cruz is the first Reds player to have four hits in back-to-back games since Dmitri Young on June 28-29, 2001, and the 13th Red since 1901 with such a streak.

Not only that, but it was also the first time De La Cruz has hit two doubles in consecutive games. Only once before, entering Monday’s opener, had he doubled twice in a game: on July 5, 2023, against the Nationals. And De La Cruz swiped his 58th base of the season, leading MLB by a whopping 25 over the Brewers' Brice Turang.

“Guys are swinging the bat well,” manager David Bell said. “Obviously Elly's had two great games -- great all-around games: defensively; his baserunning tonight was unbelievable, but [he's] getting on base, swinging the bat well.”

De La Cruz also showed off his heads-up defensive skills, when he and Stephenson combined to catch Derek Hill on the bases and end the fourth inning before it could get away from the Reds.

It was that high baseball IQ -- alongside the impressive feats De La Cruz pulls off on a daily basis -- that most impressed starter Nick Lodolo.

“One of the underrated things,” Lodolo said, “is literally in that fourth, to get out of it, the throwdown to second and instead of like, throwing the ball home, [Elly] just basically says, 'I'm faster than you,' and just tags the guy out. Like, you usually don't see that. And Hill can run too. So [Elly] caught right up to him.”

Said Bell: “He's completely aware of where he is on the field at all times. He's instinctual. He's understanding the situations. He's looking for opportunities. He's having a lot of fun playing the game right now. Obviously, we're all enjoying watching him play, but he's just going about it the right way to see the consistency.”

While De La Cruz is busy making history every night, Stephenson is making his own kind of history.

It’s taken the backstop just 95 games to eclipse his previous homer high-water mark (13), which he set in 142 games last season. Not to mention that eight of Stephenson’s 14 homers have come since July 2, when he returned from the paternity list.

And on Tuesday night, it just sort of happened, a sign of the skill Stephenson possesses.

“It really wasn't -- [I didn’t have] any intention of swinging,” Stephenson said, “Just because I've been leading off so many innings this year that it's tough catching because you got the clock and you're kind of always rushed. And sure enough, I just saw something up and decided to swing, and [I] saw it go over the fence, so I'll take it.”

Stephenson is, perhaps, starting to buy into the myth of “dad strength.” It’s hard not to when looking at the numbers. But it also doesn’t give full credit to the work he’s put in both at the plate and behind it.

“Tyler's been here for a while now, but he's still a young player, and he's always been able to hit and he's just continuing to find ways to to adjust and get better,” Bell said. “But he's always been able to make contact. I think sometimes the strength does come with age a little bit, so maybe we're seeing that come out a little bit, but he's definitely not trying to hit home runs.”

That second-inning homer -- the first pitch Stephenson saw from Marlins starter Max Meyer -- went a Statcast-projected 418 feet to straightaway center field, right over the batter’s eye. That’s tied for the fourth-longest home run Stephenson has hit this season.

Of course, Stephenson’s teammates -- particularly Lodolo -- have just loved to see “Steve-o” break out at the plate.

“We know Steve-o's got it in him,” Lodolo said. “And he's putting it together this year for sure. I mean, he's hitting more homers than he probably has been. He says, I don't know, dad strength or whatever, but he went to the Big Boy part of the yard today.”