Detroit Tigers at Cincinnati Reds

CINCINNATI – The latest sign the Reds' offense is starting to hum? On Friday, it didn't make one comeback but two. And the hitter who sealed the win wasn't even in the original starting lineup. Nathaniel Lowe, who stepped in as the designated hitter when Eugenio Suárez was scratched with a left oblique injury about an hour before first pitch, delivered his first two home runs as a Red during a thrilling 9-8 win over the Tigers at Great American Ball Park. Lowe's second homer was a ninth-inning walk-off shot against Kenley Jansen. “They say they come in bunches," Lowe said of his homers. "Thankfully, after I tore the lid off on the first one, I get to open up, and I’d like to see a bunch keep coming, but just throwing together quality at-bats will lead to that.” Cincinnati (17-9) has victories in six of its last seven games and eight of its last 10. Much of the club's hitting success in the first month of the season has been courtesy of Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz. But during the just-concluded 5-1 road trip through Minnesota and Tampa Bay, others have started coming through. “I think that’s the type of team we need to be," manager Terry Francona said. "Sal kind of carried us for a while there, and if we start getting contributions from all over the map, that’ll really help us.” As Lowe flexed his power, Matt McLain showed some of his own with his first two homers of the regular season. McLain had seven homers during Spring Training, but entered the night batting .200 with no homers. After the Reds and starter Andrew Abbott were trailing 5-0 through four innings, it was McLain who sparked the first comeback. Facing Tigers starter Framber Valdez in the bottom of the fifth, McLain jumped on a 3-1 sinker and launched it to center field for a two-run homer. “He looked like the kid that we saw in Spring Training," Francona said. "He hit the ball in the first inning right up the middle, line drive \[for a double play\