Spencer Steer hits the go-ahead to close out Mustache May

BOSTON — Spencer Steer shows no signs of slowing down…and despite flipping the calendar through June, his May mustache isn’t showing up either.

Steer continued his strong season with a go-ahead homer en route to a 5-4 Reds victory over the Red Sox Wednesday night at Fenway Park to give Cincinnati its fifth straight win and only its second victory over Boston, with the first coming in the 1975 World Series.

Steer’s blast came with two outs in the seventh on a 2-2 pitch from Red Sox reliever Josh Winkowski, leaving the bat at 101.6 mph and traveling 382 feet in the front row of seats above the green monster.

“Yeah, that was very nice, and that was good,” Steer said. “Normally you don’t show much emotion when I’m playing, but I couldn’t help it in a place like that. So that was great not only for me but the whole team. Can’t beat it at Fenway.”

At 25 years old and just 80 games into his major league career, Steer has already shown the Reds just how valuable he is.

After starting the season with 19 games at third base, Steer slid across the diamond as the Reds’ first baseman every day by the end of April. Despite a comfortable fit at first, Steer offered to learn to play other positions if necessary, a proactive move that did not go unnoticed.

“It’s just kind of his identity,” manager David Bell said. “None of us take him for granted. It says a lot about Spencer, and he’s continued to be a consistent presence in the middle of the lineup. He played solid defensively and could hit as well. Right from the first pitch tonight, he locked in.”

“It means a lot,” Steer said. “It just means they believe in me, they trust me. And as a player, that goes a long way, as the manager and coaching staff really believe in what you’re doing. So keep trying and the right way and keep trying to help this team win games.”

Although Steer’s first kickoff of the night resulted in a switch to left, he worked a complete count against veteran batter James Paxton, who needed nine pitches to get Steer out. Then came the seventh, when Steer capitalized on a runner in scoring position and two outs to hit his eighth home run for the lead and his tenth RBI.

The Reds entered Wednesday batting . 255 with a . 741 OPS, two outs. His 105 RBIs with two outs (43.4 percent of total RBIs) tied the Red Sox for seventh in the majors. On Wednesday, Cincinnati scored all four RBIs with two outs.

“It’s all about the bats and the competition,” Bell said of the Reds’ success with two teams. “You’re not always going to get hits in these situations, it’s nice when you do and it obviously leads to a lot of runs. But when you don’t, looking for that opportunity next time is really important. Because a lot of hits with runners in the scoring position It’s a very confident thing, you have to be in that spot.”

It’s a confidence that Steer and the Reds seem to have. Luke Maile drove in Cincinnati’s first run of the game with an RBI double with two outs in the fifth inning. Nick Senzel added another run with his sixth-RBI single, and Will Benson scored on a double run to tie the game in the seventh before Steer blasted the decisive two-run home run.

“I will not say [my approach] Changes, I think this team is very resilient,” said Steer. “I think we fight until the last… That’s what we work for, right? That’s what we’re getting here early on and batting in the cages for, is getting through those big moments, and I think we’ve just done a great job of not letting those moments get too big. And just sticking to our methods and what’s worked up to this point.”

The Reds closed the book in May with a 14-13 record during the month. As for Sharp Steer?

“You will stay,” Steer said. “You’ll stay a little longer.”