EDITOR’s NOTE: Welcome to the first of many regular reports on the Cincinnati Reds as the 2026 MLB season gets under way. Check back every Monday for another installment of our ongoing Reds coverage,
By MIKE ROBERTS
After nearly a six-month wait, regular-season Cincinnati Reds baseball has finally returned. The team opened the 2026 campaign with a three-game home series against the Boston Red Sox, got shut out 3-0 in the opener, then came back to win the next two and the series.
Here are four takeaways from the Reds’ first weekend of action.
Sal Stewart Is Special
First baseman Sal Stewart (.700 AVG, 2.069 OPS, 1 HR, 2 RBI) is being hyped as the next Reds legend, joining icons like Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, and Barry Larkin. Okay, maybe that’s going a little too far. But Stewart has looked great so far this year. He’s also tied several former Reds, including Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, for second on the franchise list of the most home runs (6) through his first 20 games.
The rookie sensation had three hits in the opener after being drilled in the wrist by a 110-mph line drive from Boston’s Roman Anthony in the fifth inning. Thankfully, he avoided a serious injury.
Stewart became the first Reds rookie since 1958 to record three hits on Opening Day. Plus, he‘s Cincinnati‘s youngest batter to collect three hits in a season opener, surpassing Reds Hall of Famer Vada Pinson (22 years, 243 days) way back in 1961.
Stewart is now 7-10 on the season and has yet to strike out. While he may not be the next Pete Rose, he appears primed for an awesome 2026 campaign.
Be Patient with Suarez
The Reds hit only 167 home runs last season. That’s why they went out and signed slugger Eugenio Suarez, who played in Cincinnati from 2015 to 2021 and hit 49 homers in 2025 for the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Fans were excited for Suarez’s return. But they weren’t so thrilled when he struck out three times in the Opening Day loss to the Red Sox. Fans began to think the team had wasted its money signing him.
Suarez would eventually get it together, though. In the third game of the season, he smacked a three-run, 431-foot home run in the sixth inning that proved to be all Cincinnati needed to win. Suddenly, Reds fans weren’t so upset anymore.
Abbott Deserves Better
Lack of run support has been a common theme throughout the big-league career of Reds starter Andrew Abbott. That continued on Opening Day. Abbott threw six innings of scoreless baseball, but the Reds’ lineup got totally shut down by Garrett Crochet and company in a 3-0 loss.
Abbott got 4.50 runs per game in his starts last season.
Hero of the Week
An easy choice here… outfielder Dane Myers, who joined the team during the offseason, made the most of his first hit as a Red, delivering a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning to defeat Boston 6-5 on Saturday.
Looking Ahead
Next up, the Reds will remain at home and play a three-game series starting tonight against the 1-2 Pittsburgh Pirates. Then they’ll hit the road for a three-game series vs. the Texas Rangers (2-1) that begins Friday.
Monday, 3/30: 6:40 PM, MLB.TV/FS1, Braxton Ashcraft (PIT) vs. Chase Burns (CIN)
Tuesday, 3/31: 6:40 PM, MLB.TV, Bubba Chandler (PIT) vs. Brandon Williamson (CIN)
Wednesday, 4/11: 12:40 PM, MLB.TV, Paul Skenes (PIT) (0-1, 67.50 ERA, 9.00 WHIP) vs. Andrew Abbott (CIN) (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP)
Friday, 4/3: 4:05 PM, MLB.TV, Brady Singer (CIN) (0-o, 6.75 ERA, 1.75 WHIP) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (TEX) (0-1, 9.64 ERA, 1.71 WHIP)
Saturday, 4/4: 7:05 PM, MLB.TV, Rhett Lowder (CIN) (0-0, 3.60 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) vs. Mackenzie Gore (TEX) (1-0, 3.38 ERA, 0.94 WHIP)
Sunday, 4/5: 2:35 PM, MLB.TV, Chase Burns (CIN) vs. Jack Leiter (TEX)