Benson continues to bash, leads Reds to 3-game sweep over Guardians

Will Benson’s power surge continued to light up the lives of 27,648 at Great American Ball Park, as he led the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-1 victory and a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians.

Final
R
H
E

Cleveland Guardians (25-21)
1
9
1

Cincinnati Reds (24-24)
3
9
0

W: Abbott (3-0) L: L.L. Ortiz (2-5)  Sv: Pagan (12)

Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread

Benson’s two homers knocked in all three Cincinnati runs, marking the fourth consecutive game in which he has played longball. The three-game sweep was the Reds’ first against Cleveland since 2012. Their fourth straight victory brought the club’s record back to .500, after it felt four days ago that the club may be on the verge of a May swoon as has been their habit for most of the last decade.

As this post goes live, the third-place Reds are four games behind National League Central Division-leading Chicago. It looks like the Cubbies are about to finish a three-game sweep of the White Sox, and if that happens, the Reds will again be 4 1/2 games behind. Second-place St. Louis fell 2-1 to Kansas City, leaving the Cardinals likely to fall two games back of the Cubs if Chicago’s eighth-inning lead holds.

The Offense

Cincinnati’s combined offensive line score: 9-for-32, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts.

With the game scoreless in the bottom of the fourth, Tyler Stephenson’s one-out single to left field off Guardians starter Luis Ortiz preceded Benson’s fifth homer of the year, including one in each of his past four games. In April, Benson was recalled from Class AAA Louisville and started a game in San Francisco in which he achieved the dubious golden sombrero — four strikeouts. Back to Louisville he went and continued to hit well at the minor-league level. His performance at Louisville reminds me of times in 1973 and-or 1974 when two key members of the Big Red Machine — Ken Griffey Sr. and Freddie Norman were sent to Class AAA Indianapolis. Instead of sulking, they worked on aspects of their games that were lacking, and came back … well, you know the rest.

Benson returned to the Reds in the wake of the recent tsunami of injuries, and he certainly has taken advantage of his second chance. Earlier this week, television commentator Barry Larkin described the plan of the team’s hitting coaches: to drop Benson’s hands lower in his batting stance.

Facing reliever Hunter Gaddis in the sixth, Benson again unloaded to right field — this time a solo shot, to make it 3-0 Reds — his sixth of the year, and fifth in four games. Benson’s 3-for-4 performance (including a second-inning single) set his batting average at .367, and his OPS at a rather robust 1.357. Connor Joe was the only other Red with multiple hits, batting 2-for-3 to raise his batting average to .250.

The Pitching

Cincinnati’s team pitching line for the game: 9 innings, 9 hits allowed, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts and the 1 run.

The excellent control starter Andrew Abbott showed in recent starts deserted him in the first inning. A hit batsman on the first pitch of the game, plus two walks, loaded the bases with one out. He got out of the inning with no damage but with an elevated pitch count (28). The TV broadcast reported this is the ninth straight start in which Abbott did not allow a hit in the first inning.

I’m like many members of Redleg Nation who have noticed that Abbott has a habit of running up high pitch counts, and his 96 pitches at the end of five full innings prompted Manager Terry Francona to call upon Scott Barlow to pitch the top of the sixth. The pitch-count measure became more prominent in perhaps the past quarter-century as a way to reduce wear and tear (and hopefully injuries) on pitchers’ arms. And somewhere along the way, fans and commentators began to see starting pitchers’ reduced pitch count as a way to reduce wear and tear on the bullpen.

But in this case, Abbott is quietly putting together an outstanding season. In six of his seven starts, he has allowed one or zero runs. His earned run average after today’s performance is 1.80. Nobody expects any of these numbers to stay this excellent over the course of a season. But what we might be seeing is Abbott’s way to be the best he can be. I, for one, am completely in favor of trading a high pitch count for outstanding performances the vast majority of the times he starts.

In five innings today, Abbott allowed four hits and three walks, while striking out five Guardian hitters. Barlow allowed a hit in a scoreless sixth inning, and Luis Mey allowed a Carlos Santana run-scoring single in two-thirds of an inning in the seventh. With two out, Santana on first and the Reds’ lead cut to 3-1, Francona called upon Taylor Rogers to face pinch-hitter Kyle Manzardo. The pinch-hitter was called out on strikes by a very questionable call from umpire Ramon De Jesus to end the inning.

Tony Santillan pitched a scoreless eighth, in what has become his typical eighth-inning setup role. Emilio Pagan completed the three-game sweep with his third consecutive save in the series. It was a gutty 29-pitch performance that included a 10-pitch at-bat in which Santana struck out swinging, followed by the game-ending strikeout against Will Brennan.

One Fan’s Thoughts

I’ve been of the opinion since before the season started that starting pitching would be this team’s strength. But the relief staff said, “Hold my beer.” (Is that the way that joke goes?) The relief staff has the eighth-best combined ERA in baseball at 3.43, and is tied for 11th in saves with 13, three behind the major-league-leading LA Dodgers and San Diego Padres.

Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates

Monday, May 19, 6:40 p.m. ET

Nick Lodolo (3-4, 3.42 ERA) vs. Mitch Keller (1-5, 4.15 ERA)