CLEVELAND -- No matter how Wednesday's game turned out, someone from the Reds was going to receive kudos in the plaque form of the Frank Robinson Most Outstanding Player Award from the Ohio Cup series vs. the Guardians.
The only question was who. Outfielder Will Benson or starting pitcher Andrew Abbott? Both were deserving choices after Cincinnati took the first five games of the six-game season series from Cleveland before an 11-2 loss on Wednesday.
“Can we split it?” manager Terry Francona asked before the game.
Members of the Cincinnati and Cleveland media contingents voted Benson as the winner. In five games, he batted .474 (9-for-19) with a 1.658 OPS, four home runs, eight RBIs -- including two go-ahead RBIs -- and six runs scored.
“Blessed and grateful. I’m glad we won the series," said Benson, the first Reds player to win the award since Tyler Naquin in 2022. Like Naquin, Benson also formerly played for Cleveland.
Benson drove in all three runs with a two-homer effort in a 3-1 win over the Guardians on May 18 at Great American Ball Park. He also scored at least one run in all five games he played.
“That’s what you work for," Benson said. "Every day I prepared, trying to put myself in the best position and really impact the game. One thing I’m trying to get better at is being consistent every day. This series I did that, and I’m happy about that.”
On Wednesday, with Cleveland left-hander Logan Allen starting, the lefty-hitting Benson was given the day off.
Abbott was no less effective on the pitching side, with 14 scoreless innings and seven hits over two Ohio Cup starts. Of course, that included his three-hit complete-game shutout for a 1-0 win on Tuesday.
The Benson or Abbott debate proved the only suspense to be had on Wednesday afternoon. The Guardians made sure of that while handing the Reds a thumping for a loss at Progressive Field that ended their five-game winning streak. It also foiled Cincinnati's bid for its first-ever season-series sweep of Cleveland.
Reds starter Nick Lodolo lasted 3 1/3 innings with six earned runs, five hits and two walks allowed and six strikeouts. Carlos Santana's third-inning grand slam was the big blow against Lodolo, as Cleveland took a 5-0 lead on that swing.
“I felt great. The ball was coming out good. Maybe I was trying to do a little bit too much," Lodolo said. "Everything was pretty much up in the zone. I was throwing changeups up in the zone, sinkers, and we’re not getting to the bottom. It’s going to be a tough day for me.”
In the sixth inning against Reds reliever Joe La Sorsa, Lane Thomas hit a three-run homer to the right-field corner that turned the game into a blowout.
The hard part of the road trip is still to come, as is the upcoming schedule. After Thursday's scheduled off-day, the Reds head to Detroit for three games vs. the Tigers, who have the best record in baseball. The series that follow are against contenders – like the Twins, Cardinals, Yankees and Padres.
“Every win, every game is more information for us. We’re playing good baseball," Benson said. "Shout out to some of the leaders on our team who brought us together and held us accountable for some of the games we’ve dropped, some of the games that we didn’t come through. I think how we respond, how we bring the energy and how well we play together, especially as of late, I think that’s something we can build upon, especially going against some heavy hitters coming up.”