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Will Benson hit his fifth home run in four games and fourth in the series against his former teammates the Cleveland Guardians to fuel a 3-1 win over the intrastate rivals.
Benson broke in with the Guardians in 2022 after he was their first pick in the 2016 draft.
The Reds sent Justin Boyd and Steve Hajjer him before the 2023 season.
Benson hit a two-run home run off Luis Ortiz with Tyler Stephenson on first to get the Reds off to a 2-0 lead. He hit a solo home run off Hunter Gaddis in the sixth inning. That was the entire Reds offense.
"I'm trying to execute my plan. The first one I was visualizing it. I saw it happen before it happened. It was pretty cool it happened," Benson said. "I saw a theme from them. I did have a different game plan coming into the game. I thought there would be a harder attack as you saw in the first at bat and I was able to capitalize on that."
Andrew Abbott pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the first inning. He hit Seven Kwan with a pitch to start the game. A nice running catch by Benson of Jose Ramirez' bid for extra bases turned out to be a huge out. Carlos Santana and Gabriel Arias walked to load the bases with one out. Abbott struck out Jhonkensky Noel and got Angel Martinez out on a soft line drive to Elly De La Cruz to escape.
Abbott worked around leadoff doubles by Will Wilson in the second and Ramirez in the third inning.
He finished with five innings, allowing four hits and three walks. Abbott struck out five.
"I want to say this appropriately, big balls," Francona said. "He made a lot of pitches early. DJ made a really good trip to the mound. He wasn't commanding early but he didn't give in and he competed like crazy." The same bullpen members that pitched nine innings on Saturday, shut out the Guardians for an encore.
Luis Mey gave up a run in the seventh. A leadoff walk to pinch hitter Bo Naylor culminated in a two-out RBI single by Santana. Taylor Rogers struck out Kyle Manzado to quell the threat.
Tony Santillan working his third day in a row pitched a scoreless eighth.
Emilio Pagan had a two-run lead to protect knowing that the dangerous Ramirez was due up in the ninth.
Bo Naylor hit a bloop double to right. Pagan got the pesky Kwan on a pop out to short. Ramirez, representing the tying run, hit a slow roller to Santiago Espinal at third base. He had no play, leaving runners on first and second with one out. It took a nerve wracking nine pitches to strike out Santana. The last player left for the Guardians, Will Brennan, struck out on three pitches. Pagan's 12th save was his third of the series. As the Reds swept Cleveland for the first time in 13 years.
How about those big balls.
"I'm glad you said that, I told him I was going to get him some wipes because he won't be able to wipe his ass for a day or two," Francona said.
"You know what that was one of the funner games to be a part of. You couldn't even breath. Our guys are competing like crazy. Santillan and Pagan working three days in a row, day game, night game," Francona said.
How tired is Pagan?
"I'll let you know in an hour. Right now I'm still pumped up and feel fine," Pagan said. "I'm sure it will hit me sometime in the night. I honestly don't know if I can throw the ball better than that. Those guys are good. I faced those guys. the top three in particular, Kwan, Ramirez and Santana, a bunch the last few years being in that division," Pagan said. "The make you work for everything. They don't really chase out of the zone. I was trying to work the off speed down and away just to take the sting out of the bat a little bit. I was able to execute enough to get through the inning."
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