When the Cincinnati Reds played the San Diego Padres in the middle of June, Reds manager David Bell had a full bench in the top of the ninth inning. In that game, he could have picked any pinch-hitter, and he called on rookie catcher Tyler Stephenson.
On the next at-bat, Bell trusted another rookie in second baseman Jonathan India. Since that game, when the Reds took the lead in the ninth and then lost on a walk-off homer, the two rookies have been two of the most reliable hitters on the Reds offense.
With India and Stephenson batting back-to-back at the top of the order on Sunday against the Washington Nationals, they led the Reds to a 9-2 win in front of a crowd of 21,328 fans at Great American Ball Park.