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Cincinnati Reds fight back to take series opener from Minnesota Twins
The Cincinnati Reds' clutch muscle appears to have grown quite strong. The Reds flexed that muscle Sunday against the MLB-best Detroit Tigers in a come-from-behind road win. They flexed it again Tuesday at Great American Ball Park as they rebounded twice from deficits to take the series opener from the Minnesota Twins at Great American Ball Park. Advertisement The emergence of this clutch play by Cincinnati is coinciding with winning eight of their last 10 games, arguably their hottest run of 2025, and the appearance of a team with at least some of the ingredients needed to be a contender. On Tuesday, T.J. Friedl's go-ahead, two-run double in the sixth inning proved decisive as the Reds won, 6-5, before a crowd of 26,153. That was one of several important cracks off the Reds' bats on a night when all six of their runs were scored with two outs, and when the Reds faced an early 1-0 deficit and later a 5-4 hole after a Christian Encarnacion-Strand error cracked the door open for the Twins to retake the lead. "We did some good things," Reds manager Terry Francona said. "We made some mistakes, but we did some good things. They're in a good place where they're fighting. Again, it's not always gonna be perfect but they're fighting. I like that a lot." Reds pitcher Scott Barlow (2-0) earned the win as Friedl's hit following his 1 1/3 innings of scoreless work. The ensuing save by Emilio Págan was his 17th, putting him in a tie for the sixth-most saves in baseball. Advertisement Cincinnati improved to 38-35 with the victory, seven games behind the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs and only 1 1/2 games out of the third wild-card spot. The teams will meet Wednesday for the middle game of their series (7:10 p.m.) as Reds starter Nick Lodolo (4-5, 3.76 ERA) is scheduled to throw against the Twins' Bailey Ober (4-3, 4.40 ERA). Byron Buxton enjoyed an interesting sequence of back-to-back plays on both sides of the ball. First, he robbed Will Benson of a home run at the wall in center field to end the second inning and then led off the top of the third inning with a homer of his own to almost the same part of the field where he made his defensive play. Twins center fielder Byron Buxton kept the Reds from taking an early lead when he went above the wall to rob Will Benson of a solo home run in the second inning. Buxton came to the plate in the next half inning and homered for a 1-0 Twins lead. Benson would have his revenge. Advertisement The Reds were no-hit into the fourth inning when Benson hammered a two-run double to the left-center field wall. Elly De La Cruz scored on the double. He was hitless but walked twice with a steal and a run scored. He lined out in the eighth inning on a screaming line drive to center field measured at 110 mph off the bat. De La Cruz's offensive performance certainly didn't hurt his MLB All-Star Game candidacy with his batting average at .270 and his OPS up to .845. Now in front at 2-1, Cincinnati wasn't done in the fourth even though it probably should have been when Spencer Steer struck out for what should have been the third out of the at-bat. But Steer reached on a passed ball that rolled to the backstop after his swinging, third strike. Given the proverbial extra out to play with, the Reds capitalized. Jake Fraley singled to drive in Benson and Steer for a 4-1 lead. Advertisement National League All-Star candidate Andrew Abbott was cruising along in the meantime. The 4-1 lead was intact into the sixth inning, and Abbott was good enough to be out of that inning but for third baseman Encarnacion-Strand's error on a throw to first base on a routine ground ball. TJ Friedl heads out of the batter's box after connecting on his two-run, sixth-inning double that capped the Reds' second comeback of the game in their 6-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins Tuesday, June. 17. The throw pulled Steer off the bag, allowing Ty France to reach. Now, Minnesota had been gifted an out. They made it count. Two singles followed France, the second of which was hit by Trevor Larnach and drove France in. Then, Harrison Bader clapped a three-run homer to right field. Fraley got leather on the ball at the wall but couldn't secure the catch as the ball deflected off his glove, onto the top of the right-field wall and eventually over. The Twins led, 5-4. Advertisement "I think it was a difficult play and he got turned around, and that made it more difficult," Francona said. "It's a shame because we get to the third out in the sixth and (Abbott's). We're thinking probably send him back out. Not only does that not happen but the inning got extended. You know, a three-run homer that goes off of Jake's glove. That was unfortunate." Asked about Bader's homer run, Fraley said: "Sometimes you make plays and sometimes you don't and he hit it well. Didn't think that it was gonna go too far and then switched my hips and the realized 'OK, I'm probably gonna have to jump up over the wall here to get to it... Just didn't stick in the glove." Fraley and Reds fired right back. Again with two outs, Fraley and Matt McLain singled to put runners on first and second. Friedl then lofted his double into right-center field to drive in both runners and retake the lead at 6-5. Abbott was off the hook for a decision at that point. His record remained at 6-1 with a 1.84 ERA. Just one of the five runs against him was earned. Reds starter Andrew Abbott couldn't get out of a messy sixth inning in which the Twins scored four runs, all unearned. Abbott pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing five runs, one earned, on eight hits. He struck out five and walked none, lowering his ERA to 1.84. "I credit our defense a lot. I'm still gonna sit here and credit them," Abbott said. "They've done a lot for me in every game up to this point. We all have our days. Those guys are gonna put in the work tomorrow and come back ready to go." Advertisement Barlow tossed 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Tony Santillan added a scoreless inning with two strikeouts, and Págan closed the door. "Barlow gave us four big outs," Francona said. "He was the biggest cog tonight. He really pitched well." This story was updated to add a video. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds take series opener from Minnesota Twins
Reuters
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Wade Miley captures first win since '23 as Reds top Guardians
June 10 - Jake Fraley socked a solo homer in a three-hit game while Wade Miley earned his first victory in nearly two years as the visiting Cincinnati Reds beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-4 on Monday night. Miley (1-0) worked five innings, allowing three runs on five hits in his second appearance since joining the team on Wednesday following his recovery from Tommy John surgery performed in May 2024. The 38-year-old struck out two and walked four. Miley won for the first time since Sept. 21, 2023, when he and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals. The left-hander also made longtime Cleveland manager Terry Francona's return with Cincinnati a successful one. Emilio Pagan worked the ninth inning for his 16th save. The Reds won their fourth straight game overall and clinched the season series with in-state rival Cleveland, claiming custody of the Ohio Cup for the first time in 11 years. Cincinnati won all three at home against the Guardians last month. TJ Friedl hit a solo homer in the third inning, then scored on a Christian Encarnacion-Strand sacrifice fly in the fifth that put Cincinnati ahead for good at 4-3. Gavin Lux (sixth-inning single), Will Benson (seventh-inning single) and Connor Joe (ninth-inning double) tacked on RBI hits for the Reds. The Guardians scored three times in the bottom of the third on singles from Angel Martinez, Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana to go up 3-2, but Fraley tied it in the fourth with his homer to right-center. Fraley finished 3-for-4, raising his average to .218. Guardians right-hander Luis L. Ortiz (3-7) last 4 2/3 innings and gave up four runs on nine hits. He struck out five and walked one while falling to 1-5 in nine starts since April 23. Cleveland has dropped three of four on a six-game homestand that began with a weekend series against the Houston Astros. Ramirez extended his on-base streak to 35 games, and Bo Naylor hit a solo homer off Graham Ashcraft in the seventh inning. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Elly De La Cruz homers, drives in 4 runs as Reds hold off Cubs 6-4 to snap 4-game skid
CINCINNATI (AP) — Elly De La Cruz drove in four runs and the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Chicago Cubs 6-4 Saturday to end a four-game losing streak. Justin Turner and Michael Kelly homered as the Cubs had a three-game winning streak snapped. Kelly came into the game in the fifth inning after catcher Miguel Amaya suffered a left oblique strain. De La Cruz and the Reds struck quickly in the first. After Santiago Espinal drew a walk with one out, De La Cruz lined a fastball by Colin Rea (3-1) into the seats in right-center for a 2-0 lead. The dynamic 23-year old shortstop added a two-run base hit to center in the fifth inning to extend the Reds' advantage to 5-1. The top of the Reds' order went 5 for 11 and accounted for five runs scored. Emilio Pagán got his 13th save in 15 opportunities. Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott (4-0) allowed only one run in six innings. The solo shot by Turner was the first homer the left-hander had allowed in 23 2/3 innings and 100 batters. Rea, who had allowed only 10 runs (nine earned) in seven previous starts this season, gave up six runs in five innings. Key moment Turner's homer off the left-field foul pole to lead off the ninth got the Cubs within two runs. Matt Shaw doubled with one out, but Emilio Pagan struck out Ian Happ and got Kyle Tucker to fly out to end the game. Key stat Turner is the first Cubs player age 40 or older to homer in a game since Gary Gaetti in 1999. Ernie Banks, Davey Lopes, Walker Cooper and Charlie Root are the other Cubs who have homered in their 40s. Up next Cubs right-hander Ben Brown (3-3, 5.44 ERA) faces Reds lefty Nick Lodolo (4-4, 3.22 ERA) in the series finale Sunday. ___ AP MLB: Joe Reedy, The Associated Press
Associated Press
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Elly De La Cruz homers, drives in 4 runs as Reds hold off Cubs 6-4 to snap 4-game skid
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] CINCINNATI (AP) — Elly De La Cruz drove in four runs and the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Chicago Cubs 6-4 Saturday to end a four-game losing streak. Justin Turner and Michael Kelly homered as the Cubs had a three-game winning streak snapped. Kelly came into the game in the fifth inning after catcher Miguel Amaya suffered a left oblique strain. De La Cruz and the Reds struck quickly in the first. After Santiago Espinal drew a walk with one out, De La Cruz lined a fastball by Colin Rea (3-1) into the seats in right-center for a 2-0 lead. The dynamic 23-year old shortstop added a two-run base hit to center in the fifth inning to extend the Reds' advantage to 5-1. The top of the Reds' order went 5 for 11 and accounted for five runs scored. Emilio Pagán got his 13th save in 15 opportunities. Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott (4-0) allowed only one run in six innings. The solo shot by Turner was the first homer the left-hander had allowed in 23 2/3 innings and 100 batters. Rea, who had allowed only 10 runs (nine earned) in seven previous starts this season, gave up six runs in five innings. Key moment Turner's homer off the left-field foul pole to lead off the ninth got the Cubs within two runs. Matt Shaw doubled with one out, but Emilio Pagan struck out Ian Happ and got Kyle Tucker to fly out to end the game. Key stat Turner is the first Cubs player age 40 or older to homer in a game since Gary Gaetti in 1999. Ernie Banks, Davey Lopes, Walker Cooper and Charlie Root are the other Cubs who have homered in their 40s. Up next Cubs right-hander Ben Brown (3-3, 5.44 ERA) faces Reds lefty Nick Lodolo (4-4, 3.22 ERA) in the series finale Sunday. ___ AP MLB:
New York Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
C. Notes: Reds sweep Guardians as Will Benson steals the show against former team
CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Reds closer Emilio Pagán is as impressed as everyone else at what his teammate, Will Benson, is doing right now. Benson hit two homers, driving in all three runs in the team's 3-1 victory on Sunday to seal the Reds' three-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians — Benson's old team. Since being called up from Triple-A Louisville on May 9, Benson is 11-for-26 with five home runs over eight games, with homers in each of the last four games. Advertisement As everyone, including Pagán and his teammates, watches the 26-year-old in amazement, the only person who doesn't seem surprised is Benson himself. There's an immediate reaction after hitting the ball hard and seeing it clear the fence, but as he rounds the bases, Benson said he's moving on to the next half-inning in the field, his next at-bat, looking forward, not backward. 'I surrender, I thank God for that successful moment, but it's on to the next,' Benson said of his trip around the bases. 'That's the type of mindset I have.' In a series built up around a struggling Reds team and manager Terry Francona's first regular-season action against the club he managed for 11 seasons, it was the former Guardian who stole the show. 'He's worked really hard, but it seems like if he misses a pitch early in a count and they come back with it, he hasn't missed it a second time,' Francona said. 'I'm sure his confidence is (high) — it should be. He's swinging the bat really, really good and he's dangerous right now.' The game was scoreless in the fourth when Benson came to the plate for the second time against Guardians starter Luis L. Ortiz. Benson watched a changeup inside for a ball and then a cutter down and in for a strike before he swung through a 1-1 slider. As Francona noted, Ortiz tried to throw another slider to Benson, but this one was in his wheelhouse and he launched it into the right field stands for a 2-0 Reds lead. In the sixth, Benson came up against reliever Hunter Gaddis with one out and nobody on. He fouled off a changeup, watched another one for a strike and then hit another ball nearly into the same spot. 'I'm definitely getting results at the moment, which I'm grateful for, but my focus is really on just showing up and being consistent with what I'm trying to do,' Benson said. All four of Benson's homers in the series came against off-speed pitches on the inner-third of the plate. Hmmmm… Will Benson seems to be handling the pitch on the inner third… there are his 4 homers against the Guardians this weekend [image or embed] — C Trent Rosecrans (@ May 18, 2025 at 4:59 PM Benson said he was expecting a different approach from Guardians' pitchers Sunday and saw an 0-1 fastball in his first plate appearance against Ortiz that he jumped on, hitting it 106.7 mph off the bat for a single. Benson's streak of four straight games with a home run is the most since Joey Votto hit homers in seven straight games (and nine home runs total) in July of 2021. Like Benson, Votto hit two homers in his fourth game of the streak. Votto hit two homers in the fifth game, too. Advertisement 'I'm doing a really good job of swinging at pitches I want to swing at and taking pitches I don't want,' Benson said. Reds first-year hitting coach Chris Valaika didn't tell anyone anything they didn't already know before Thursday's game against the Chicago White Sox, but he gathered the team's hitters to reiterate what everyone already knew — with Cincinnati struggling to score runs, pressing at the plate wouldn't help. 'We went through a two-week stretch there with every at-bat with a runner in scoring position or a runner on second with no out, it kind of felt like life or death,' Reds first baseman Spencer Steer said. 'He just wanted to reiterate the fact that if you don't get the job done, the guy behind you is going to take pride in getting the job done for you.' It's a familiar refrain, not only in general among baseball teams, for the Reds. It's similar message to the one former Reds hitting coach Joel McKeithan and catcher Luke Maile gave the team in April of 2023 after getting swept in Pittsburgh to start the season 7-15. The Reds won their next five games after that talk, including a sweep of the Texas Rangers, who went on to win the World Series that year. A message doesn't have to be revolutionary to be impactful, sometimes it just needs to be the right thing said at the right time. 'That's what good offenses do is pick each other up and get the job done when the guy in front of you doesn't,' Steer said. 'And when you don't get the job done, trusting the guy behind you to get it.' Reds starter Andrew Abbott had a runner on second before he had an out in each of his first three innings on Sunday, but still managed to throw five scoreless frames, pick up his third win of the season and push his ERA down to 1.80. Abbott needed 28 pitches to get through the first inning, hitting Steven Kwan with his first pitch of the game and walking a pair of batters to boot. But Abbott got out of the inning unscathed with a strikeout and a lineout, to push his streak of not allowing a hit in the first inning to nine starts. Advertisement According to Elias Sport Bureau, he matches Jim Maloney for the longest streak of starts without a hit allowed in the first inning by a Reds starter since expansion in 1961. Maloney's streak lasted nine starts from Sept. 17, 1968, to April 30, 1969. Abbott last allowed a hit in the first inning on Aug. 7 of last season, when he gave up three hits and five runs against the Miami Marlins, including a grand slam by Derek Hill. Often, I have random questions that pique my curiosity, and I have to ask them. On Sunday morning, I asked Connor Joe how long it takes to have all the right color gear after being traded in the middle of the season. Joe said the only thing he has to wait on is appropriately colored cleats, and his agent takes care of that — knowing exactly what model he wants. That's not as vital as it used to be since the 2018 amendment to the Collective Bargaining Agreement eliminated the old rule that required at least 51 percent of a shoe's color to be a team's primary color. Joe said it's really just cleats and batting gloves that need to be changed out, and even then, it's not like a certain color is mandated; it's more of a player preference. But Joe said clubhouse staffs have enough batting gloves on hand that the right color is always available. 'Our staff is so good, you don't have to do much,' Joe said of Rick Stowe's clubhouse crew. The second question was to Santiago Espinal about his successful butcher boy play in Saturday's victory over the Guardians. (In the so-called butcher boy play, the batter, seemingly squares up to bunt, pulls the bat back and swings at the pitch.) Did Espinal, I asked, go up with the intention of the butcher boy, or was a bunt a possibility until the second he pulled back the bunt? 'There's a point where I'm still thinking bunt, the first time I tried it, the whole defense separated, so I knew there was a good opportunity for me to do that,' Espinal said Sunday morning. 'I just saw the defense move, separate.' Advertisement With the score tied at 1 in the sixth, the Reds' TJ Friedl led off the inning with a double. Espinal, batting second, squared around to bunt on the first two pitches he saw from Guardians' starter Slade Cecconi. He pulled back on both, with the first called a ball and the second called a strike. More importantly, Espinal saw the Guardians running the wheel play, with the first baseman and third baseman crashing in from the corners and the shortstop and second baseman moving to cover third base and first base, respectively. 'When you see the shortstop and second baseman breaking, you know you have that whole (middle of the field) open,' Espinal said. Espinal said it didn't even really matter where the pitch was, as long as he could hit it, he felt good about his chances of a hit. Entering Sunday's game, Espinal missed on only 14.7 percent of the swings he takes, good for the 94th percentile in MLB. So combine his bat-to-ball skills and a wide-open infield, all that he had to do was make sure he didn't hit it at someone or in the air, and he had a good chance of a hit and a better chance of at least moving the go-ahead run to third with one out. The Reds were a season-worst four games under .500 following Wednesday's loss to the lowly Chicago White Sox before winning four straight, including the sweep of the Guardians to pull back to .500 at 24-24. Cincinnati hits the road for a quick three-game series in Pittsburgh — and again will miss Pirates ace Paul Skenes — but then return home to face the Chicago Cubs for a three-game homestead. • RHP Hunter Greene (right groin strain) threw 35 pitches in a bullpen session before Sunday's game in Cincinnati and is on track to start Friday night against the Cubs at Great American Ball Park. Greene said he felt good and will throw another bullpen this week. • IF Jeimer Candelario (lumbar spine strain) was sent to Arizona to begin working out before a rehab assignment. Candelario began baseball activities in Cincinnati before heading to Arizona. Advertisement • RHP Rhett Lowder (right forearm strain) made his third rehab start Saturday and first at Triple A. Lowder didn't make it through the first inning of his start against the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis, allowing four runs on four hits, one home run and a walk. The only out he recorded was via strikeout. Lowder threw 29 pitches (17 for strikes) and was removed because of his pitch count. Lowder continued pitching in the bullpen. He is scheduled to pitch again the next time through the rotation, but will likely be limited to 75-80 pitches, Francona said Sunday, instead of stretching to 90. He was scheduled to throw 75-80 on Saturday. • RHP Ian Gibaut (right shoulder impingement) has pitched in four games at Triple-A Louisville on his rehab assignment, allowing one hit and a walk with five strikeouts over four innings. Gibaut had back-to-back scoreless outings on Saturday and Sunday. • LHP Sam Moll (left shoulder impingement) made a scoreless appearance Saturday for Louisville and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks on Tuesday. In 10 rehab appearances, Moll is 0-2 with a 6.52 ERA over 9 2/3 innings. • Triple-A Louisville (19-24): Benson hasn't been the only outfielder to take advantage of his opportunity when called up. OF Jake Rogers had three hits in six at-bats for the Bats while Benson was briefly called up to the big leagues in April, before going back to Double-A Chattanooga. When Benson was called up to the big leagues on May 9, Rogers once again was moved up to Louisville. While the 2021 ninth-round pick hasn't exactly done the same kind of damage Benson has in Cincinnati, he's hitting .333/.400/.417 in 12 games with the Bats. Overall on the season, he's hitting .329/.389/.424 and has driven in 20 runs in his 27 games this season. • Double-A Chattanooga (18-20): IF Sal Stewart had his Southern League-best 15th multi-hit game on Saturday in his 37th game of the season. Stewart had an RBI double in Sunday's win and is also leading the Southern League in batting average (.319), hits (46), doubles (12) and three-hit games (six). • High-A Dayton (14-25): C Connor Burns had himself a week, going 7-for-20 with four home runs and 21 total bases over five games at Quad Cities (Royals). Burns had two homers on Friday, two doubles Saturday and then another homer on Sunday. • Class-A Daytona (17-22): RHP JeanPierre Ortiz improved to 5-0 with a win Saturday. Ortiz, 21, has thrown 29 2/3 innings over eight appearances this season with no starts. Ortiz's five wins were the second-most in the Florida State League entering Sunday, and he was one of just seven pitchers in the full-season minors with at least five wins and no losses.
