CINCINNATI -- For the Reds on the field to show their front office upstairs that there is enough reason to be buyers before the July 30 Trade Deadline, it's going to take more games just like Thursday afternoon's series finale against the Rockies.

An 8-1 victory at Great American Ball Park gave Cincinnati three of four games for a crucial series win on the heels of being swept in three games by Detroit. Although the Reds are 3-4 on the homestand, they are 6-4 in their last 10 games.

Next up is a three-game home series against another struggling team in the Marlins to end the first half.

“It was huge," Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene said of the series win. "It was the focus, it was kind of the talk of the clubhouse the last few days of being able to take care of this series. And being able to finish it with a fun game like today was really cool. Every single inning was fun today.”

Greene struck out a season-high 10 batters over six innings and was boosted by Tyler Stephenson's two home runs and five RBIs. But they were hardly alone in having big days.

Jonathan India and Spencer Steer each had three hits and scored two runs. Rookie Rece Hinds stayed hot with two hits, while Santiago Espinal -- who was filling in for shortstop Elly De La Cruz on his day off -- had two hits with a home run.

A complete win in every way. Good, now do it again.

“If we can go out and win another series, that’s great momentum going into the break. Keep it going and get ready for the second half," Stephenson said.

Led by president of baseball operations Nick Krall, the Reds have not tipped their hand whether they would be buyers or sellers.

“Let’s see how we play," Krall said on July 3 as the Reds were in the midst of sweeping three games from the Yankees in New York.

Cincinnati (45-49) entered the day 3 1/2-games back in the National League Wild Card chase. While its rotation and bullpen have largely been solid, the offense could use a boost amid inconsistent production and injuries to several key players.

“I think more than anything, fighting to get back to .500 is what makes this stretch of games big for us," Steer said. "The closer we can get to .500 at the All-Star break, obviously the better position we’ll be in going forward.

“I think the Trade Deadline, whatever happens during that time, is really out of our control.”

Greene, who replaced Tyler Glasnow on the NL All-Star squad on Tuesday, allowed one run on two hits and two walks. Greene has given up only one run and five hits with 17 strikeouts over his last two starts as he heads to Texas for his first All-Star Game.

"It starts with Hunter attacking and throwing strikes," manager David Bell said.

Greene became the first Reds starting pitcher since Anthony DeSclafani (June 23, 2019 at Milwaukee) to strike out his first six batters of a game.

It was a scoreless game in the third inning with one out when Stephenson lifted an Austin Gomber first pitch to the opposite way for a three-run homer to right field.

Greene surrendered a Michael Toglia leadoff homer to right field in the fifth inning before retiring his last six batters in a row. The Reds piled up some add-on runs in the seventh with Jeimer Candelario blooping a two-run double near the right-field line.

Stephenson, who was the designated hitter on Thursday after catching the previous three games, followed with a two-run homer to left field, giving him the first multi-homer game of his career and 10 for the season.

It was a hot series for Stephenson, who was 8-for-17 with four homers in the last three games.

“Everything’s kind of going well right now but this game is hard," Stephenson said. "You try to minimize those lows as much as you can. It’s been good to see some results.”

Entering the day, the Reds had lost 13 of Greene's 18 starts in 2024 while scoring just 30 runs across the 13 defeats.

“It was nice to give him some breathing room out on the mound and [Stephenson] had an incredible game," Steer said. "He’s been on a little hot streak there. It’s great to see when everyone is contributing and you’re seeing good at-bat after good at-bat.

“We’re a tough team to beat when we do that.”