This wasn’t just the “Will Benson game.” It was the exclamation point on the “Will Benson week” for the Cincinnati Reds.
Pressed into action on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox due to a T.J. Friedl injury, Benson’s bat got hot as he ended up hitting home runs in four straight games, with five total.
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Two of those deep drives came in Sunday’s 3-1 Reds win against the Cleveland Guardians at Great American Ball Park before a crowd of 27,626. The victory earned the Reds a series sweep of the Guardians and a 4-2 record on the now-concluded homestand.
Sunday’s win also brought Cincinnati back to .500 with a 24-24 record.
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“I’m committed to my process, what I’m trying to do every day,” Benson said. “Just having a plan and execute that plan… I’m definitely getting results at the moment, which I’m grateful for.”
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Benson broke open a scoreless game with his no-doubt, 399-foot, two-run homer to right field in the fourth inning. The homer followed a single by catcher Tyler Stephenson.
In the sixth inning, Benson ripped another no-doubter − this one a 380-foot solo home run − to right field. That gave the Reds a 3-0 lead.
Will Benson celebrates after his two-run home run in the fourth inning gave the Reds a 2-0 lead on the way to their 3-1 victory and three-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians. Benson added a solo home run in the sixth inning.
“One, (Benson’s) worked really hard,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “It seems like if he misses a pitch early in the count and they come back with it, he hasn’t missed it the second time. And I’m sure his confidence is (high), and it should be. He’s swinging the bat really, really good and he’s dangerous right now. It’s huge for us today.”
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Benson had help on Sunday, of course.
Reds starter Andrew Abbott (3-0) loaded the bases in the first inning on two walks and a hit-by-pitch but worked out of the trouble, eventually lasting five scoreless innings. He struck out five and scattered four hits.
Abbott’s ERA dropped to 1.80 through eight starts.
“That was one of the funner games to be a part of,” Francona said afterward. “Couldn’t even breathe, but it was like, our guys were competing like crazy. We had (Emilio) Pagán and (Tony) Santillan pitch three days in a row, night game into a day game. That’s a lot of fun.”
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The game-tying and go-ahead runs came to the plate in the ninth inning for Cleveland in Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana, respectively, but Emilio Pagán managed to nail down his third save in as many days against the Guardians. Pagán has 12 saves for the season.
The fans joined Will Benson in watching the flight of his two-run home run in the fourth inning on Sunday, May 18.
The Reds will travel to Pittsburgh for a three-game series against the Pirates scheduled to begin Monday at 6:40 p.m. at PNC Park. Reds’ probable starter Nick Lodolo (3-4, 3.42 ERA) is scheduled to face Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller (1-5, 4.15 ERA).
“I think we try to build off of everything, even when we’re going bad,” Francona said. “We’re gonna flip the page because Keller’s gonna be waiting for us tomorrow in Pittsburgh and that normally is where the momentum starts or stops, and we’re gonna have to keep an eye on our bullpen a little bit.”
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The Pittsburgh series offers Cincinnati a chance to improve its 6-5 record against the NL Central, and begins a stretch of 12 of 15 games against divisional opponents.
The Reds swept the Pirates in the clubs’ first meeting of 2025 during a series at Great American Ball Park (April 11-13). Just as they did in April, Cincinnati will avoid having to face Pirates ace Paul Skenes as he started Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies.
With the Reds leading, 3-0, on Benson’s bombs, the Guardians finally got on the scoreboard in the seventh inning against Reds reliever Luis Mey, who earned the first win of his career in Saturday’s bullpen game. Santana singled home Bo Naylor, who reached on a leadoff walk.
Mey lasted 2/3 of an inning, and Taylor Rogers emerged from the bullpen to close out the seventh on a strikeout.
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A day after six Reds relievers were required to help the club survive the injured Hunter Greene’s turn in the rotation, the bullpen once again got the job done on Sunday.
Reds closer Emilio Pagan reacts after the final out to save the Reds’ 3-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians at Great American Ball Park Sunday, May 18. He needed 29 pitches as he saved all three games in the series.
In the ninth inning, Pagán needed 29 pitches but he succeeded under pressure. He had one out and two runners on base, but recorded back-to-back strikeouts of Santana and Will Brennan to end it.
“Bullpen’s done it for three games in a row,” Abbott said. “It’s super-impressive. Sitting in a starter’s shoes, you wish you could give them a little more length so maybe we didn’t have to use them again but the competitiveness to be able to do it three times in a row, having the luxury of a great bullpen is appreciated, for sure.”
Hunter Greene threw from GABP mound on Sunday
Another noteworthy development from Great American Ball Park on Sunday occurred before first pitch of Reds-Guardians. Reds ace Hunter Greene threw off the big-league mound on Sunday morning as he continued his work to return from the groin injury that’s sidelined him since May 6.
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With Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson looking on from behind the mound, and Greene in full uniform, Greene threw 35 pitches, saying in the clubhouse after Sunday’s game he wanted to get his volume up. Francona told media members Greene would throw from the mound so the Reds could deploy devices to gather data on Greene.
“It went well. Velo was easy,” Greene said. “Felt nothing, so I’ve got one more bullpen and then I’m back in the game.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Will Benson powers Reds to win, series sweep of Cleveland Guardians