Guardians Falter as Will Benson and Left-Handed Starter Stifle Them in 1-0 Loss to Reds

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Will Benson and Cincinnati’s stable of left-handed starters beat the Guardians again Tuesday night at Progressive Field.

Benson doubled and scored the only run of the game and lefty Andrew Abbott threw a three-hitter as the Reds improved to 5-0 against the Guardians this year with a 1-0 victory.

For Abbott (6-1, 1.87 ERA) it was the first nine-inning complete game of his career. He struck out five and walked one in 110 pitches.

It was the first nine-inning, complete-game shutout by a Reds pitcher since Wade Miley no-hit the Indians on May 17, 2021, at Progressive Field. Miley, by the way, beat the Guardians on Monday night.

The Guardians are now 4-13 against left-handed starters this season.

“I thought Abbott’s stuff was sharper tonight than when we saw him in Cincinnati,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “The changeup was really good tonight and mixed in the breaking balls to the lefties and he just had us off balance.”

The Reds took a 1-0 lead off Slade Cecconi (1-3, 4.87) in the fifth. Benson opened the inning with a double and scored on Spencer Steer’s single to right.

Benson, Cleveland’s No. 1 draft pick in 2016, entered Tuesday’s game hitting .533 (8-for-15) with four homers and eight RBI against his former team in the first four games of the Ohio Cup series.

Cecconi had to work to get out of the rest of the inning without allowing a run. Two good defensive plays by first baseman Carlos Santana helped.

After walking Jake Fraley to put runners on first and second, Matt McLain hit a foul pop behind first base. Santana, second baseman Angel Martinez and right fielder Johnathan Rodriguez converged on the ball near the grandstand down the right field line. Santana made the catch despite being jostled by Martinez as Steer went to third.

TJ Friedl tried to score Steer on a safety squeeze, but Santana made a diving catch in foul territory for the second out. Gavin Lux ended the inning with a line drive to center.

“How about that catch by Los (Santana)?” said Cecconi. “He looked like Superman.”

On the fifth pitch of the at-bat against Lux, Cecconi thought he had Lux struck out with a pitch at the bottom of the strike zone. Plate umpire Todd Tichenor called it a ball to run the count full. When Cecconi ended the inning, he exchanged words with Tichenor.

Cecconi started the game in high gear. He retired the first 11 Reds to come to the plate, six on strikeouts. The streak ended when Lux and Elly De La Cruz hit consecutive singles with one out in the fourth.

He came back to strike out Christian Encarnacion-Strand for the second out. After De La Cruz stole second for his 20th steal of the season, Cecconi threw a called third strike past Tyler Stephenson to end the inning.

The eight strikeouts tied a career high for Cecconi. In his first start for Cleveland on May 17, he struck out eight Reds at Great American Ball Park.

“The first time through the order is the best we’ve seen Slade,” said Vogt.

Abbott, who beat the Guardians on May 18, dominated the Guardians from start to finish. Gabriel Arias doubled with one out in the second and Rodriguez singled with two out in the fifth.

Jose Ramirez was robbed of extra bases to start the seventh on a diving catch by right fielder Jake Fraley. Ramirez carried a career-high 35-game on-base streak into the game.

Ramirez managed to extend the streak to 36 games with a two-out single in the ninth. The game ended with Santana sending a drive to the warning track in left center field that Benson caught.

“I made good contact,” said Santana. “I tried to get it in the gap to get a run home.”

The Reds threatened to expand their 1-0 lead in the eighth when they loaded the bases with one out on a single, walk and intentional walk against Hunter Gaddis. Encarnacion-Strand sent a fly ball to Nolan Jones in center field. Jones threw a strike to the plate as catcher Bo Naylor tagged McLain to complete the inning-ending double play to keep the score at 1-0.

Jones, earlier in the inning, missed the cutoff man on Friedl’s single as McLain went to third and Friedl took second on the overthrow.

“I tried to get behind the ball and get it in Bo’s hands as quick as possible,” said Jones. “When I’m moving in, I feel like I have a chance to throw someone out.

“I feel like I made a little mistake throwing the ball to third (on Friedl’s single). So I was able to pick myself up there.”

A throwing error by De La Cruz, the Reds’ shortstop, put Rodriguez on second base with one out in the eighth. Lane Thomas pinch ran, but Abbott retired Jones on a fly ball to left and struck out Martinez to end the inning.

Abbott is 2-0 against the Guardians this year and 3-1 in his career. He has held the Guards scoreless in 10 innings this season.

Twelve of Abbott’s 27 outs came on three or fewer pitches. He recorded six one-pitch outs in the game that lasted 2 hours and 13 minutes.

Steven Kwan, 1-for-18 against the Reds in the first five games of this series, started the ninth with a walk. But David Fry bounced into a double play before Ramirez singled.

“We’ve got to stick together and take it day by day,” said Jones, when asked about the Guardians’ skid. “There are a lot of games left. Every team goes through this. It’s just how quickly you come out of it.”

Next

LHP Logan Allen (3-4, 4.42) vs. LHP Nick Lodolo (4-4, 3.21) Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. CLEGuardians.TV, WTAM 1100, WMMS 100.7 FM, WARF and the Guardians radio network will carry the game.

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