Benson went 0-for-3 with two stolen bases in Tuesday's 11-7 win over the Guardians.
While his activity on the basepaths didn't lead to any runs for the Reds, Benson still managed to contribute some fantasy value. The 25-year-old outfielder is stumbling to the finish line on the regular season, batting .160 (4-for-25) over 11 games since his last multi-hit performance, but he's still had something of a breakout in 2023 with 11 homers, 17 steals and an .847 OPS in 316 plate appearances, primarily in a strong-side platoon role.
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Reds' Elly De La Cruz: Powers comeback win Tuesday
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De La Cruz went 3-for-5 with two home runs, three runs scored and four RBI in Tuesday's 11-7 win over the Guardians.
Hunter Greene dug an early hole in what was nearly a must-win game for Cincinnati, but De La Cruz led a five-homer barrage by the Reds offense to mount a comeback, launching a solo shot off Lucas Giolito in the fourth inning before crushing a Xzavion Curry curveball to right field in the ninth for two insurance runs. It's the first multi-homer game of De La Cruz's brief career, and the long balls snapped a 28-game power drought. The 21-year-old is slashing just .192/.306/.288 in September thanks in large part to a 31.4 percent strikeout rate, but he still has 13 home runs and 33 steals in his first 94 big-league games.
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Reds' Hunter Greene: Hammered by Guardians
Rotowire
Greene escaped with a no-decision Tuesday in the Reds' 11-7 win over the Guardians, surrendering seven runs on eight hits -- including three home runs -- and a walk over three-plus innings. He struck out three.
After a scoreless first frame, the wheels came off for Greene as he served up a three-run blast to Bo Naylor in the second inning before Kole Calhoun and Andres Gimenez took him deep in the third. After the right-hander put the first two batters he faced in the fourth inning aboard, he left the mound having tossed 70 pitches (47 strikes), but Cincinnati got Greene off the hook for his seventh loss of the season by taking the lead in the top of the fifth. The awful outing snapped a string of three impressive starts for the 24-year-old, who now has a 4.57 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 32:7 K:BB through 21.2 innings in September. If he stays on turn, Greene lines up to start the Reds' final game of the regular season Oct. 1 in St. Louis, with a potential wild-card spot on the line -- the team heads into play Wednesday 1.5 games back of the Cubs for the final playoff berth in the NL.
Moll (2-3) allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two over two scoreless innings to earn the win over Cleveland on Tuesday.
Moll and others in the bullpen combined for six scoreless innings, giving the offense a chance to overcome a disastrous outing from starter Hunter Greene. Moll has not allowed a run over his last 19 appearances (18 innings) and sports a shiny 0.76 ERA across 23.2 innings since being acquired by the Reds at the trade deadline.
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Reds' TJ Friedl: Having monster finish
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Friedl went 1-for-4 with a walk, a solo home run, and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 11-7 win over the Guardians.
Friedl homered for a fourth consecutive game and extended a hit streak to seven contests, during which he's 10-for-25 with seven walks, five extra-base hits, eight RBI, two steals and six runs scored. The outfielder, who had slumped since the All-Star break, has bounced back in September just as he reached a career high in plate appearances. Friedl's slashing .348/.471/.768 in 23 games this month.
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Reds' Christian Encarnacion-Strand: Homers keep coming
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Encarnacion-Strand went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run and a second run scored in Tuesday's 11-7 win over Cleveland.
Encarnacion-Strand smacked a two-run home run as part of the Reds' three-run third inning, which helped the team survive an early onslaught by the Guardians. The rookie is making a case as the team's best hitter down the stretch. The home run was Encarnacion-Strand's sixth in the last eight games, during which he's slashing .367/.406/.967 with 12 RBI. For the season, he has 12 homers over 59 games.
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Reds' Luke Maile: Contributes to comeback win
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Maile went 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's 11-7 win over the Guardians.
Maile and the rest of the lineup overcame a short outing from starter Hunter Greene (three IP, seven runs, three HR). The journeyman catcher belted a solo home run in the third third inning then lashed a two-out, two-run single in the fifth which plated the game-winning run. Maile has six home runs, 25 RBI and a .723 OPS over 75 games.
McLain aggravated his right oblique Sunday and has been shut down for the remainder of the season, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
McLain was on the cusp of returning to the Reds following a nearly four-week absence for a right oblique strain, but the injury reappeared as he was playing in a minor-league rehab game this weekend with Triple-A Louisville. A fresh round of imaging scans taken Monday revealed it to be a Grade 2 strain, so he can be ruled out for any potential postseason run as well. The 24-year-old infielder finishes his breakout rookie campaign with a .290/.357/.507 batting line, 16 homers, 50 RBI, 14 steals and 65 runs scored across 89 major-league games.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Not activated Tuesday
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McLain (oblique) will not be activated from the injured list ahead of Tuesday's game at Cleveland, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
McLain apparently needs at least one more day to recover from the right oblique strain that sent him to the IL in late August. The 24-year-old infielder spent the weekend on a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville and went 1-for-6 with a single, a walk and three strikeouts. He played shortstop for Louisville on Saturday and then moved to second base Sunday.
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Reds' Jake Fraley: Out of lineup Tuesday
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Fraley is absent from the lineup Tuesday versus the Guardians.
Spencer Steer, TJ Friedl and Will Benson will start across the outfield for the visiting Reds as Joey Votto fills the DH role. Fraley has slashed just .233/.327/.326 in 49 plate appearances since returning Sept. 1 from a stress fracture in his left fourth toe. The injury is expected to eventually require a surgical repair.
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Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Takes seat Tuesday
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Stephenson is out of the lineup Tuesday at Cleveland.
Luke Maile will start at catcher and bat ninth for the Reds as they take on the Guardians and right-hander Lucas Giolito. Stephenson went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Sunday's series finale versus the Pirates and carries a disappointing .698 OPS through 504 plate appearances this season.
Newman (oblique) was activated from the 10-day injured list Monday and designated for assignment.
Newman has recovered from his oblique injury after missing more than a month of action, but the Reds no longer see a fit for him on the big-league roster. The 30-year-old will now go through the waiver process and is likely to go unclaimed, given his $2.66 million salary.
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Reds' Jonathan India: On base four times in win
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India went 2-for-2 with one double, two walks and two runs scored in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Pirates.
India reached base in all four plate appearances Sunday and scored the game-winning run in a contest the Reds desperately needed to win. Since being reinstated from the IL on Sept. 10 following a bout with plantar fasciitis, India had only five hits in his previous 42 at-bats going into Sunday's game. Over 509 plate appearances, India's now slashing .242/.334/.400 with 16 home runs, 58 RBI, 73 runs and 13 stolen bases.
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Reds' Ian Gibaut: Picks up third save
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Gibaut tossed a perfect ninth inning to pick up the save in Sunday's 4-2 victory over Pittsburgh.
Despite having already worked both Friday and Saturday, Gibaut was called upon Sunday to close out the game in favor of closer Alexis Diaz, who worked the eighth after he had allowed seven runs over his previous two appearances. The save was Gibaut's third of the season. With the Reds' playoff hopes now hanging by a thread and considering the recent struggles by Diaz, it will be interesting to see if Gibaut or another reliever can pose as a threat for the closer role the rest of the way.
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Reds' Brandon Williamson: Pulled in fifth frame
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Williamson did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk over 4.1 innings against Pittsburgh. He struck out three.
Williamson allowed only two baserunners through four innings but was tagged by a Jack Suwinski solo homer to lead off the fifth. Williamson then allowed a one-out double to Henry Davis followed by an RBI single by Jason Delay and was removed after 74 pitches. Following a stretch during which he worked into the sixth in eight of nine starts, Williamson has failed to get through the fifth in each of his last three appearances. The rookie has started 22 games for the Reds spanning 111 innings and will carry a 4.54 ERA into his final start of the regular season, scheduled to take place next weekend in St. Louis.
