Will Benson had rare home run among his two hits to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Atlanta Braves in the opener of a three-game series Friday afternoon.
Benson, who scored twice, drove in a pair of runs and stole a base before he crossed the plate on Matt McLain two-out single in the sixth for the game’s first run.
Reds right-hander Brady Singer (9-8) set a season high with 10 strikeouts while allowing just four hits and a walk over six shutout innings. Braves right-hander Bryce Elder (4-8) gave up two runs on four hits over 6 2/3 innings with two walks and five strikeouts.
Benson led off the Cincinnati sixth with a sinking line drive single that center fielder Michael Harris II nearly caught as he went to the ground. Benson stole second as Elder retired the next two batters, but McLain’s grounder up the middle broke the scoreless tie.
Atlanta left-hander Dylan Dodd entered in the seventh to face Benson. The left-handed hitting Benson drilled a 2-1 pitch to the left field seats for his ninth homer of the season. He now has three career home runs against lefties, including two this season. He entered batting .063 against left-handers this season.
The Braves loaded the bases with one out in the second and had runners at second and third in the eighth, but they went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position through the first eight innings.
They rallied in the ninth inning off Emilio Pagan, who allowed a walk to Marcell Ozuna, a Harris single, and an RBI single from Ozzie Albies. With the potential go-ahead runner at the plate, the Reds’ closer retired the next three hitters, including a Luke Williams sacrifice fly, to earn his 23rd save.
The two teams played in the afternoon before heading to Bristol, Tenn., for Saturday night’s Speedway Classic.
–Field Level Media
