It wasn’t a great day offensively for most of the lineup, but the Cincinnati Reds rallied late with a Will Benson pinch-hit game-tying home run in the ninth and a walk-off single by Blake Dunn in the tenth to beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 at Great American Ball Park Tuesday night.
| Final/10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals (23-38) | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (31-29) | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| W: Brock Burke (2-2) L: John Schreiber (0-3) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Tonight’s game started with a battle between left-handers, and Andrew Abbott and Noah Cameron went toe-to-toe through the first three innings. Abbott worked around a walk to Bobby Witt Jr. in the first inning, and seemed to be cruising. Then the fourth inning happened. It started with a Salvador Perez single and a Starling Marte bunt single. One out later, Nick Loftin singled and the bases were loaded with one out. It looked like the Reds might get out of the inning when Abbott forced Jac Caglianone to ground out, but the ball took an unfortunate bounce off Abbott and Edwin Arroyo could only get the out at first. Perez scored from third and the inning continued. Tyler Tolbert extended the inning with a walk and Michael Massey hit a seeing eye single just past Arroyo’s glove to score two more and extend the Royals lead to 3-0.
Both at-bats from Tolbert and Massey started with 0-2 counts, but Abbott just couldn’t put either of them away. Abbott finished the fourth with 77 pitches and for a moment, you were thinking the bullpen was going to be used heavily in back-to-back nights. However, Abbott ended up making it through six innings, allowing five hits on three runs with five strikeouts. He did walk four batters, but it still counts as a quality start.
Meanwhile, Noah Cameron was dealing on the mound for Kansas City. He ended the first inning by making Sal Stewart look silly on a nasty curveball, and right then, it just felt like it would not be a good night for Reds hitters. He didn’t throw particularly hard, but he mixed his pitches well, throwing five of his six pitches more than 12% of the time. Cameron used his curveball mostly against right-handers and have four of five swing and misses on it. He was throwing strikes with a 70% strike rate, and got Reds batters to chase 37% of the time. He allowed only two hard hit balls out of 14 batted ball events.
Spencer Steer was the lone bright spot in the Reds lineup for most of the game. Cameron had a perfect game going through four innings, but Steer put a stop to that in the fifth. He capitalized on Cameron’s one mistake when he blasted an 81.4 mph changeup that hung over the top of the plate 420 feet over the left field fence for the Reds’ first run of the game. It was the top exit velocity of the game at 106.3 mph. Steer would also hit an opposite field home run off Matt Strahm in the eighth to make it 3-2.
Tejay Antone, Sam Moll, and Zach Maxwell combined for three scoreless innings in the 7th, 8th, and 9th. This would prove to be vital, as Will Benson, pinch hitting for Matt McLain, led off the bottom of the ninth with a game-tying home run off Lucas Erceg and gave the crowd of 25,824 some life. The Reds would put two more on base with two outs to try and win the game, but Steer struck out to send the game to extra innings.
In the tenth inning, Brock Burke allowed a walk, but escaped the inning unscathed, including striking out Kyle Isbel to end the half inning and give the GABP crowd free pizza. The Reds would walk it off in the bottom of the 10th when Blake Dunn singled to right field to drive in Steer from second
Key Moment of the Game
Will Benson’s pinch hit game-tying home run in the bottom of the 9th inning. It energized the crowd and gave the team some life after the Reds’ bats were silenced for most of the game.
Notes Worth Noting
-Steer just keeps hitting consistently. He went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three runs scored. It was Steer’s fourth career multi-home run game. Before tonight, his last multi-home run game came on September 19, 2025 against the Cubs.
-The bullpen combined for four scoreless innings tonight, striking out six batters while walking four.
-The Reds now have five extra inning wins in 2026. They had three in all of 2025.
-The 3-2-1 promotion continues to be one of the best things the organization does. Another large Tuesday night crowd of 25,824 filled GABP and it was so loud at the end of the game that Tommy Thrall said the ballpark was shaking after Blake Dunn hit the walk-off single in the 10th.
Up Next for the Reds
Kansas City Royals vs. Cincinnati Reds
Wednesday, June 3, 2026, 7:10 PM EDT
Stephen Kolek (3-1, 3.48 ERA) vs. Chase Burns (7-1, 1.96 ERA)
Once again, I am taking credit for the Reds win tonight! I deliberately stayed off of the RLN site during the game! Honestly, I needed a break from the frustration this team creates!
Nice comeback win but only 4 hits and 11 SOs leaves room for improvement!
Good news on Lowder is promising! The rotation could certainly use him!
They have had an enormous number of key injuries in the first two months. Despite that, they are 31-29 tonight. Not frustrating to me. They were a .500 team coming out of ST and are slightly above .500 despite all of the above.
They may not frustrate you but they do many other fans. They were terrible in the month of May. Hopefully June is a different story and more like April.
I wonder too because Dennis is the one who commented you felt the need to retort his post. You seem to do that all the time.
Yes, they frustrate me as well. The bullpen especially as well as a few of their starting pitchers. I believe it would frustrate any fan.
The Reds are my favorite team because this is my hometown.
All-time (except for the BRM Decade of the 1970s) they are a .500 team. They are a .500 team this year despite several obstacles faced.
Now the 1971 team was very frustrating. 1B May 2B Helms SS Concepcion 3B Perez C Bench LF Carbon/McRae CF Foster RF Rose P Gullett Grimsley (others) Granger Carroll (etc.).
Gobs of talent. 79-83 W-L record.
Your sacrifice is appreciated ! It worked before, and it worked again … The Reds win today cannot be accounted for with normal metrics. The question is, How long can you take one for the team ?
I watched the game tonight on tv but wow, hats off to that crowd. I was so glad that the team came back because that crowd treated the game like it was a playoff game.
That was fun to watch, even from afar.
Great job fans, Great job team.
One more thing! Burke is looking more and more like a closer!
Benson and Dunn stay, send Friedl down and bring Marte up. Yes Friedl has options.
Did not realize Friedl had options. This is a no brainer then!!!
Happy he had a moment, but Benson’s .626 OPS and -0.2 WAR doesn’t deserve a roster spot.
4 hits and 8 walks our “pitchers” gave up. Yes we won but I am seeing a consistent problem and that is a lack of coaching by our pitching and hitting coaches. Nothing is getting better and that is a PROBLEM.
I’m certain that DJ tells the pitchers to throw strikes and Valaika tells the hitters to get hits. It may well be that there’s lots of coaching going on but that coaching’s success is in large part dependent upon the players’ aptitude.
Benson’s game tying HR and Dunn’s walk off single last night were well coached!
As embarrassing as the first seven innings were, it still resulted in a win. Kind of a black swan event, with 2HRs by Steer, a PH HR by Benson, and then a walk off hit from Dunn. KC has to really be stunned by that. Again the Reds walked too many . Tomorrow should be Burns and a series win.
Burns should go six, but not much more. We had Maxwell out there today. And that is not good. Fortunately, the Royals are not as good as most of the teams we face. Is Burke up to the task of closing ? I haven’t seen that maturity yet.
Moll should be closing——FOR NOW.
Didnt get anything from Bleday, Sal,and Geno. If offense gets 3 runs tomorrow, I like our chances with Burns on the mound. This team needs a lot of things right now due to injuries. At full strength I think what this team needs the most is a good lead off hitter. Give Francona credit for trying out different players, from TJ to McLain to Dunn but it has not worked out yet, if anything it might have messed up McLain and Dunn.
…and Myers is a really good pinch hitter off the bench, but when he plays regular, it ‘s not happening.
I know they didn’t start Lowe today because a lefty was on the mound, but he needs to be there.
Today we were right back to where we were with 4 bats not producing in the lineup, and the reality was that only Steer was on top of it today. After Stevens we can only have one guy that’s not hitting well.
No, Dunn did not get ruined batting first. But if he can’t rise to the occasion, putting him with McLain and Arroyo is not the answer. McLain is not the answer moving forward either. Put Steer back at 2nd and call up Marte.
Don’t forget that Myers may have saved the game with that great catch.
Nice that the Reds got the win! However, this was against a Royals team that is only 8-21 on the road this season, and they’ve been ice cold lately. A lot has been made of the brutal schedule from late August on, but the Reds play only two series between now and the all-star break against teams with losing records. Hard to be optimistic that they’ll stay above .500 by the break playing that schedule (which includes 7 games against the Brewers). It seems likely the Reds will get further behind in the standings and will not be buyers at the trade deadline.
Looks like Burke, Moll, Antone and Ferguson are the new backend of the bullpen. I’d move Santillan to the 7th inning role for a while to see if he can get more consistent before moving back to the closer role. Closer by committee based on how they are pitching seems to be the better way to go. The backend until now has been too inconsistent.
I agree RedsFan. Santillan was nails in April but a disaster in May. He’s been passed by for late inning duties. Clutch night from the bullpen (though Maxwell always makes me nervous), Spencer Steere and Will Benson. Really rough at bat for Friedl, sent up to bunt but struck out instead. Does the contrast between Benson and Friedl tonight solve the problem of who goes to AAA to make room for Noelvi Marte? At this point it’s hard to argue Friedl is more valuable than Benson as the 5th outfielder. And here’s hoping the walk off hit jump starts Dunn. After a nice run he’s been on the struggle bus. Happy for him, and the Reds, tonight.
Throw out the divisional standings; need to focus on the Wild Card as the Brewers will lock up the Central. They’ve figured out how to do it consistently as a team and an organization; reminds me of the Cards from the early ‘00’s to the mid to late teens. This unfortunately is the Brewers division, until another is good and talented enough to take it from them it will remain so. Our club is two back of the top WC spot and one away from number 3, and Hey——The Cards and Cubs lost tonight——Joy in “Mudville”.
Went to bed thoroughly expecting a big letdown. Happy to see the good guys pulled it out. But man, surely EDLC wasn’t carrying that much offense just on his own, was he? Or is the Royals staff currently turning out Cy Young candidates?
4 hits, 2 which came from Steer.
Still, the Reds managed to grind out a win.
This could be a momentum builder. We’ll see.
Also, sadly Arroyo has not looked like the savior we thought he would be. Looks thoroughly overmatched. Hopefully Elly is back soon, because it looks like Arroyo still has some learnin’ to do.
He does, but that’s something we should have expected. If EDLC comes back strong, I will be content to see Arroyo stick at 2nd and get at least a month’s worth of chances.
Two games is too soon to tell if a player looks too overwhelmed. It’s his first two games in the bigs. Look at what Aaron Judge did on opening day. But no one was saying he looked “overwhelmed.” He’s still learning what opposing pitchers want to do to him. If this is still ongoing 2 weeks from now, then we can conclude he’s not quite ready yet. But 2 games in? Still too early to tell
Arroyo was cold in the week prior to his callup. Hopefully he adjusts.
I think this win shows the toughness of this team. Yes, it was against the Royals, however still they didn’t quit.
Stewart and Suarez need to get hot.
I still say this is a good lineup with Bleday,Lowe,Suarez, Steer and Stewart.
Stephenson has shown signs as well. I feel bad for Friedl, maybe a reset is needed.
I agree, Kevin! It was nice to see them keep fighting and pull off the comeback.
hopefully this gets Dunn going again.
Time to move on is a reality. Friedl has had a good Red’s career. Maybe one of the other 29 teams can use him and the Reds can get a pitcher for this year’s bullpen. Then bring up Marte.
With all the injuries to the bullpen, starting rotation, Geno, and now Elly, it’s amazing that the Reds are a game out of the wild card and above .500 going into June. But they are.
Looking at Friedl’s career stats (he only debuted 5 years ago), he has a good year followed by a bad. He’s in the bad part of his cycle. Yes, he’s 30, but that isn’t that old to have such a drop off. Sumpton aint right. Send him down and bring him back next year. While Friedl has options, his 5 years of service means he can refuse the option and go free agent (which I suspect he wouldn’t do because who would take him).
Why was TJ trying to bunt for a hit instead of just laying it down and moving the runner to third in the 10th then ultimately striking out.
The mental breakdowns are unacceptable.
How do you know if he has options? Is there information out there to show this?
I ask as I dont know
He has 1 option left
Yes,however where do you go look?
Lots of great info here:
https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/depth-charts/reds
Why was TJ trying to bunt for a hit in the 10th instead of just simply laying down the sacrifice and moving the runner to third and then ultimately striking out.
The mental breakdown are unacceptable.
And attempted to bunt poorly at that.
I know! What a mess! Especially when the Royals knew TJ wanted to bunt, and bunt in a certain direction…. up the 3rd base line, and the pitcher decided to try and jam him with an inside pitch.
Baseball looks pretty easy up in the stands, or watching on TV.
Off with his head!
Friedl does not have five years of service time. He entered this season with 3 years, 112 days. Accurate option and service time information is available under the Roster Resource hot button of Fangraphs. @Tom Diesman provided the direct link to the Reds roster at Fangraphs in his post above.
It was a good way to end the evening. I was ready to go to bed frustrated. Glad that didn’t happen.
Still a lot of work to do.
I turned radio off after innings. Was frustrated and barely followed along. Then when getting home. Followed on gameday. Didn’t want to jink anything.
+10,000 to you for respecting the jinx
Good things often come when injuries happen in pro sports.The next man up concept gives others chances that they may not have got.Maxwell has throw 3 consecutive scoreless innings.Two against the Braves and last night in a high leverage spot.Dunn comes through with a duck snort and its the game winner.Nobody expected to see either player this year and they contributed to the win last night.
Contrary to the belief of some, Steer can hit! Maybe he’s fully healthy again? Either way he’s been clutch.
McLain OPS+ 72 and Stephenson OPS+ 69 NOT getting it done offensively. I do feel like Stephenson has been a good caller and receiver behind the plate but we need offense. Valaika, why still employed? He’s not done much to improved so many Reds.
Happy for a win no matter how they come.
Abbott minus a weird inning with no hard hits really stabilized things. Bullpen did their job last night.
Maxwell has the stuff but so far he has struggled to throw strikes and that’s his issue along with the whole bullpen.Now I don’t know if its the player or the coach or some kind of combination or maybe its just an organization thing but something needs to change.Maxwell was throwing 98 and sliders at 85 and a cutter at 90 last night.Thats electric stuff anyway you look at it but only if he throws strikes.Just a thought that means little.
Your thoughts are yours. They mean something.
Its a confidence thing I am guessing. Maxwell has the stuff as does Mey. All we have to do is look at Friedl. Dude has fallen off a cliff offensively. Was solid last year. Baseball is such a mental game especially at MLB level.
I love Will Benson. Love the energy and joy he plays with. I accept he will probably never be more than a role player. But what he brings is a veteran who can pinch hit which is probably the hardest thing to do in baseball, gives ya some pop and speed play all three outfield positions and seems to be more patient at the plate and walking. Yes, I’d like to see Marte back up with the Reds but for last nite I know who I’d rather have at bat in the ninth down a run and it’s not Friedl or McLain. Actually surprised Francona made that move.
Maybe we’ll look back at season’s end and look at last night’s comeback as our Hal King moment this year.
I mean, after all, the Reds were playing one of the worst teams in the American League. I can see how this was key to the season.
But if they lost, it would have been a dagger to the heart, fer shure.
The Hal King homer (pinch hit grand slam) back in 1973 was against the Dodgers, who were then in 1st place in the NL West.
I was at both the Hal King game and last night’s game. To paraphrase a famous debate moment: I knew Hal King. You, Will Benson, are no Hal King.
Hal King was a journeyman, left handed catcher. He had some big pinch hits for the Reds in 1973, but he was no Ted Williams.
Hal King and Will Benson are probably not that bad a comp. I think Hal King batted like .214 for the 1973 season, but will always be immortalized for that pinch hit Grand Slam against the Dodgers, in the bottom of the 9th inning in the first game of a double header. The Reds ended up sweeping the Dodgers in that double header, and began their charge to win the West, after being down 12 or 13 games in the standings. The Reds won the Friday night game against the Dodgers, but lost on Saturday. They were about to lose the first game of the Sunday double header, and Hal somehow hit that pinch hit Grand Slam, and won the game. I was 17 that summer and working that day, listening to the game on the radio. Marty and Joe. That was Marty’s first season, replacing Al Michaels (71 and 72) as the play by play guy.
Benson hit a big homer last night, against a guy that is pretty marginal as the closer, for KC. I mean frankly, he’s turrible. Which is a significant reason the Royals are in the cellar of the AL Central. I think he had blown 5 saves prior to last night (the 6th blown save).
Congrats JJ Bleday!
NL player of the month.
Well deserved
The Reds got 4 hitless innings out of their bullpen last night. The unsung hero is Brandon Leibrandt, who who took one for the team Monday night by laboring through 6 innings of relief and thereby giving the entire bullpen a day off.
Leibrandt was promptly DFA’d, and he probably knew before he pitched that he was going to be DFA’d after the game. Kudos to him. I expect he will eventually get back to Louisville.
@ Old Big Ed
Probably true. Francona had to make a very hard decision to not burn down the bullpen in a game that was probably already lost. And Brandon did the Reds a solid on Monday night, although most fans probably don’t see it that way.
The Reds are in a really bad place right now. It’s not because the players don’t care, or aren’t trying. There is just a lack of talent in the Bullpen, the starting rotation is weak now, and things are just not going right. Terry Francona is going to have to make some hard decisions in the games ahead, until this gets all sorted out.
In a few weeks, it may get a little brighter, but the Reds have a tough row to hoe in the next few weeks, against some pretty good teams.