Spencer Steer’s 2-homer night leads Reds: ‘He’s doing everything the right way’

DENVER — Cincinnati Reds third-base coach Willie Harris didn’t see how Spencer Steer broke out of the box on his line drive to center field in the eighth inning of Friday’s game against the Colorado Rockies, but he knew Steer wouldn’t be admiring his shot.

“He’s doing everything the right way, so I wasn’t worried about that part,” Harris said.

What Harris did have to worry about was the right arms of Rockies right fielder Tyler Freeman and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. Even with no outs, though, as he saw Steer touch second base, Harris waved his right arm furiously to send Steer home for an inside-the-park home run.

Two innings earlier, Steer hit a two-run home run over the fence to break a tie, and his inside-the-park home run was an add-on as the Reds scored in each of the last four innings for a 7-2 victory over the Rockies to begin the second half of the season.

“Thank God he was safe because I look really crazy with nobody out, making the first out at home,” said Harris, who is in his first year as the Reds’ third-base coach.

Steer said that as soon as he saw his ball bounce off the wall, past Rockies center fielder Jake McCarthy, he thought there was a chance he could get an inside-the-park home run and was hoping to see Harris giving him the golden windmill to try to score.

SPENCE INSIDE-THE-PARK HR!!!@spenc__er pic.twitter.com/zQYhTyWnTJ

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 18, 2026

As much as Coors Field has a reputation for home runs, its large playing surface makes it one of the best places for an inside-the-park home run in addition to the over-the-fence variety. Harris reminded the team about the possibility in pregame meetings, but he also reminded them about Freeman’s arm.

A lot has to go right — or wrong, depending on your perspective — for a true inside-the-park home run to take place. Leading off the eighth inning against Rockies right-hander Jeff Criswell, Steer did everything right, ambushing Criswell’s first pitch of his outing, hitting it 102.4 mph off the bat. He hit it to one of the deepest parts of the park, 421 feet away near the bullpen door in right-center.

“I knew I hit it well, but it’s a big part of the yard,” Steer said. “So (I was) just running hard out of the box.”

McCarthy tried to pull up when he saw he wasn’t going to have a play on the ball, but it bounced oddly, rolling on the warning track parallel to the wall.

Steer said he took a peek as he was rounding first and saw McCarthy and Freeman running after the ball. At that point, he said, he was hoping the next thing he saw was Harris waving his arm.

“The way that ball kicked, I’m definitely looking to see how the ball kicks off the wall, and once I saw the right fielder go and field it, I thought it was a good time to take a chance,” Harris said.

He also remembered the orders given to him by team’s general manager, Brad Meador: “Be aggressive.”

“Rounding second, I was kind of just looking at (Harris), hoping he’d send me,” Steer said. “It’s an exciting play that you don’t obviously get to be involved in very often.”

The Reds tested Freeman’s arm and lost in the third inning when Sal Stewart was thrown out at third trying to go first to third on JJ Bleday’s single to right.

On the inside-the-park home run, Freeman fielded the ball on the warning track in front of the 415 sign in center field after Steer rounded second.

Not known for his speed, Steer is still in the 82nd percentile in sprint speed in baseball and has a higher average sprint speed than teammate Elly De La Cruz, who once dubbed himself the fastest man on the planet.

“Not only that, he runs the bases well,” Harris said. “He cuts the corners; he shortens the distance. And you know, he’s a pro, so he’s really running.”

But once he hit third, Steer said, he ran out of gas.

Freeman got the ball nearly to the infield, where Tovar made a quick throw home when Steer was about halfway down the third-base line. Tovar’s throw skipped in front of the plate and past catcher Hunter Goodman as Steer slid in safely.

“I felt like I was running under water those last 90 feet,” Steer said.

It’s another example of why some teams could covet Steer at the trade deadline. He is, in the parlance of the game, a “ballplayer.” He’s a smart player who does everything and does it well.

Before Friday’s game, Reds manager Terry Francona was asked about Steer’s value to a winning team.

“He could help any team win,” Francona said. “That’s why everybody loves him here. He’s a great teammate. He moves around, he does it willingly, always tries to do the right thing.”

Steer has played every outfield position this year, including his first appearance in center field, and he’s played first, second and third base as well. His inside-the-park homer was his 16th home run of the season; he’s four away from his fourth consecutive 20-homer season.

“It’s so out of my control that there’s really no point in thinking about it,” Steer said. “I’m just going to be where my feet are and whatever happens, happens. I’m going to show up and play my butt off every day wherever that is in the field and for whatever team it is.”