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The Cincinnati Reds won their first game after the All-Star break, topping the Colorado Rockies 7-2 in Denver.
Brady Singer got the start for Cincinnati and turned in a stellar outing, throwing 96 pitches over seven innings and allowing just two runs.
Singer has continued to throw the ball well over the past month and a half, as he has allowed more than two earned runs just once since the beginning of June.
Singer is one of the Reds most important trade chips at the deadline, and each quality start raises his value while bolstering the potential return the Reds could get in a deal involving him.
Sal Stewart got the scoring started for the Reds with a double that scored Elly De La Cruz in the first inning.
That was the only run scored until the Rockies struck with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.
In the sixth inning, Spencer Steer hit a two-run home run that scored JJ Bleday, giving the Reds a 3-1 lead.
Then, Eugenio Suarez stayed hot, hitting a home run in the next at-bat to bring the score to 4-1.
Suarez has homered in three straight games, going back to the Reds series with the Chicago Cubs before the All-Star break.
Any miracle comeback this season will be fueled by a serious increase in power from Suarez.
In the seventh inning, Stewart recorded his second RBI of the night with a sacrifice fly.
In the next half-inning, the Rockies started to chip away with another sacrifice fly, making the score 5-2.
Then, Steer had one of his best moments of the season.
He hit a line drive off the base of the center-field fence, which then caromed into left field.
The race was on, and on a close play at the plate, Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman misplayed a potential putout, allowing Steer to score and make it 6-2.
Spencer Steer's 2nd home run of the game is an inside-the-parker pic.twitter.com/VPOoRpZ7I9 MLB (@MLB) July 18, 2026 In the top of the ninth, De La Cruz hit a line drive over the center-field fence, bringing the score to 7-2, which would ultimately be the final.
Brock Burke threw one inning in relief, helping finish a game set up by Singers stellar start.
The Reds are now 44-52 and still in distant last place in the NL Central.
As mentioned before, Singers start boosts his trade value, as does Steers two-home-run game, as Cincinnati debates whether to trade the valuable utility player.