Will Benson’s homer fuels a Reds 4-0 shutout win over Cleveland
Payback can be a good feeling and Will Benson may have been feeling pretty good as he crushed a long home run to put the Cincinnati Reds on top of the team that traded him away a year ago. The Cleveland Guardians offense never got going as Cincinnati picked up a victory in the spring training opener.
Game Recap: Reds 4 – Guardians 0
Will Benson got the scoring started with an absolute laser of a home run. Unknown at the time, but that single run would be enough to get the job done as the Cincinnati Reds seven pitchers combined for a shutout as the club’s offense tacked on three more runs – all coming off of the bat of prospect Tyler Callihan.
The Highlights
Carson Spiers looked good in the first two innings of the game as he struck out four batters without allowing a run before turning the game over to the bullpen.
After the third inning it seemed like half of each team left Goodyear Ballpark to head back to the complex (which is just a bit down the street). Players have to exit from the outfield, though, and the game was delayed slightly as the players worked their way through the door in the outfield wall.
Hopefully the players got out quickly because about five minutes later Will Benson hit a baseball at roughly light speed deep into the right-center tunnel. The bat drop was definitely in midseason form, too, as he put the Reds up 1-0.
The Reds added a run in the top of the 6th inning after Bubba Thompson led the inning off with a double and then came around to score on a fielders choice, giving Cincinnati a 2-0 lead. Two innings later they would add to their score once again when prospect Tyler Callihan obliterated a baseball for a 2-run homer that landed on the concourse in right-center. That made it a 4-0 game because the Reds pitching had been strong up to that point.
