CINCINNATI -- When TJ Friedl hit a home run in the sixth inning on Saturday, he participated in the Reds’ classic home run celebration by donning their Viking helmet and cape, then posing for a photo at the end of the Reds’ dugout.

As soon as he put the helmet down, Matt McLain hit a home run of his own. And right after McLain himself donned the helmet and cape, posing for a photo with Friedl, Jake Fraley followed with the Reds’ third straight homer. The trio represented Cincinnati’s first three runs in the 4-2 win over Arizona to guarantee a series victory at Great American Ball Park.

“It was unbelievable," Friedl said. "Matty hit his, and I was kind of at the end of the dugout, and so when the picture happened I said, 'Hey, throw up the twos, like back-to-back.' So we did that, and then as soon as I think we turned around, Jake hit his. And so I told Matty, ‘Stay at the end of the dugout and we'll throw up the threes. And then we'll see how many we can get up to.’”

It was the first time the Reds hit back-to-back-to-back home runs since July 13, 2022, when Kyle Farmer, Mike Moustakas and Stuart Fairchild did so against Luis Severino at Yankee Stadium.

When the ball left McLain’s bat in the sixth, he didn’t need to move. Neither did D-backs left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. It took mere seconds for the ball to go from Brandon Pfaadt’s hand on the mound to the first row of the second-deck bleachers, a projected 404 feet away from home plate. McLain finished it off with a bat flip as he trotted around the bases.

McLain, who ended the first half of his rookie season in a slump, has slashed .429/.478/.857 since July 16 and has a home run in two straight games after hitting his first career grand slam on Friday.

“Oh my gosh, McLain's been unbelievable,” Friedl said. “I mean, I don't think you could ask for much out of him [other] than what he's been doing. He's been one of the most consistent players in the lineup, in the field, every single day. Works hard. He's been a guy that's picked us up in games when the bats are slumping, and picked us up in the field -- so he's done an amazing job.”

In the eighth inning, Friedl, McLain and Fraley were again involved in a scoring threat following Spencer Steer’s leadoff single. Friedl doubled to the right-center-field gap to move Steer to third, and manager David Bell swapped Steer for Elly De La Cruz to put the fastest runner in baseball 90 feet from the plate.

McLain for the first out and De La Cruz stayed stuck on third. But then Fraley grounded a 1-0 splitter to first base. Christian Walker fielded the ball and stepped on the bag as he turned toward home, but De La Cruz had ample time to slide in headfirst for the Reds’ fourth run of the day.

“It was hard-hit -- it was a good play by the first baseman,” Bell said. “And I think not for a second did we doubt that [Elly] was going to score right there. We were watching the leads he was getting, we knew he would get a good break and then it would almost have to be just hit perfectly for any defense to have a chance right there.”

The hitters have the Viking helmet, but pitcher Brandon Williamson has a celebratory “dub robe,” a Snuggie-style robe custom made by his grandma with a Reds patch on the front and his No. 55 on the back. The “dub robe” was fitting attire for Williamson, who got the win after arguably the best start of his young career.

Williamson opened the afternoon with four hitless innings before Evan Longoria roped a leadoff double in the fifth. Williamson held the D-backs scoreless before allowing one run in the sixth, his final inning of the night. Getting ahead was the key to shutting down a high-powered Arizona offense that, like Cincinnati, capitalizes on its speed on the bases.

“I got ahead a lot -- just the name of the game,” Williamson said. “Just kinda, I don't want to say ‘oblivious’ to the hitters, but just kinda throw my pitch and let it work.”