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Reds 8 Dodgers 6
Will Benson rocketed a 420-foot game-winning two-run home run in the bottom of the 9th as the Reds stunned the Dodgers for the second consecutive night, 8-6 Wednesday night at GABP. It was Benson’s first career homer. The Reds trailed 6-2 in the Top of the 3rd, but rallied back to tie the game with four runs in the bottom of the 3rd. The scoring stopped until Benson's blast in the 9th. It followed a leadoff hustle infield single by T.J. Hopkins.
Fast starters, Part 2: One night after each team plated three runs in the 1st inning, each plated two in the 1st tonight. The teams combined for 12 runs and 5 homers in the first three innings...then things ground to an offensive halt.
Holy, Elly: 2-4, HR, 3B, 2 R. He almost hit a ball out of GABP in the 1st inning. His 1st ML HR was 458-feet to the top row in right field and left the bat at 114.8 mph. He broke loose for a triple that was breathtaking. Per Sarah Langs, MLB.com, he did it in 10.83 seconds, the fastest home to third time of any runner in MLB this year. Per J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, Billy Hamilton's fastest home to 3rd sprint was 10.39. He struck out on three pitches in the 5th. He struck out with the go-ahead run on 2nd in the 7th,
Brandon Williamson: 5.2 IN, 8 H, 6 R. The Dodgers tattooed him for a homer in each of the first three innings....Mookie Betts, Miguel Vargas and Will Smith.
But he did a nice job to apply a tourniquet to things and not allow a hit or run over his final 2.2 innings of work. Major help for the pen.
Matt McLain: 2 more hits...1B, 3B....what a gorgeous, quick and compact swing. He entered with 30 hits in his first 20 games, per Elias, the most ever by a Reds player.
Triple the pleasure: McLain and De La Cruz each tripled in the 3rd inning...first time for a Reds team since 1994.
2 H: McLain, De La Cruz, Newman, Benson.
Steal away: The Reds stole 4 bases...Steer 2, Newman 1, McLain,1. That's 62 for the season, already topping their 2022 season total of 58.
More hits: Leadoff hitter Will Benson smoked a single (100mph) to leadoff the 7th. He's 9 for his last 26 (.346) after starting the season 1 for 25.
Things noticed: De La Cruz was the first Reds player over the railing as Benson slammed bat, yelled to his teammates and started up the 1B line on the game winning HR.
Rounding into form? Tyler Stephenson followed his three hit night Tuesday with a homer.
Farm it out: Buck Farmer 1.1 IN, 0 R. Since April 15.....21 appearances, 25.0 IN, 12 H, 3 ER, 20 K, 1.08 ERA
Dominant: Alexis Diaz 1.0 IN, 0 R.....(win). Since allowing 3 runs on April 8, Diaz has appeared in 22 games, 21.1 IN, 7 H, 1 R, 40 K, ERA 0.42.
Rockets: The teams combined to hit 15 balls at 100+ mph...Reds 7, Dodgers 8.
Pen: Sims 1.0 IN, 0 R........
How the Reds scored
1st: De La Cruz, HR, 2-2
3rd: India sacrifice fly scores McLain, 6-3 Dodgers
3rd: Steer 1B scores De La Cruz, 6-4 Dodgers
3rd: Stephenson 2-run HR scores Steer, 6-6
9th: Benson 2-run HR, Reds win 8-6