Will Benson smashes Reds to sweep, earns Player of the Week honors

Heck, he might even win the NL PotW!

Moribund might be a tad harsh of a description for the Cincinnati Reds offense of one week ago, but it’s not too far off.

They had stumbled to losses in nine of eleven games, their bats seemingly only allowed to come alive a) in one game per week and b) all at the same time. To date, they’ve scored 68 runs in their four highest scoring games of the year, but had averaged just a hair over three runs a game in the rest of the first ~45 games of this season.

That changed at the end of the series loss to the Chicago White Sox, however, and they parlayed their 7-1 triumph in the end of that series into a steamrolling of the Cleveland Guardians in Great American Ball Park all weekend. The result after Sunday’s 3-1 victory over their Ohio Cup rivals was a sweep of the three-game series, a four-game win streak as they head to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates, and a return to a .500 overall record at 24-24 on this still young season.

Convenient storylines are a wonderful crutch for writers on Sunday evenings, and Will Benson’s re-emergence has been perfectly timed.

The former 1st round draftee of the Guardians was finally recalled from AAA Louisville by the Reds nine days ago after being overlooked in several instances by the Reds with their fringe-roster call-ups. Cincinnati had relied on a patchwork outfield with the likes of Blake Dunn and Jacob Hurtubise as regulars Jake Fraley and Austin Hays battled injuries, even turning to Tyler Callihan for a spell before the latter broke his arm. May 9th finally saw Benson recalled after too many others fell in front of him, and he has simply carried the offense of the Reds ever since.

Benson homered twice on Sunday to mark his fourth straight game with a homer, in the process driving in the entirety of the trio of runs plated by the Reds on the day. For his efforts, he’s taking home the latest Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Week honors here at Red Reporter, with the hope that Terry Francona - who was at the helm of the Guardians in 2022 when Benson first made his MLB debut - has helped him unlock the vast potential he’s flashed at times in his pro career.

Something akin to that .275/.365/.498 (128 OPS+) mark he put up in 2023 would be nice, wouldn’t it?

Congrats to Will, and here’s hoping he’s hit his way back into the regular lineup for good again.