BALTIMORE (AP) — Will Benson hit a go-ahead triple and TJ Friedl followed with a two-run homer in a four-run 10th inning to give the Cincinnati Reds an 11-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.
The first-place Reds won two of three games at Camden Yards, where they had not played since 2014.
“What a great game,” Cincinnati manager David Bell said. “Two great teams, two teams that are playing well. It’s no surprise it kept going back and forth like that. We feel fortunate that our players had the at-bats and made the pitches to get it done.”
Orioles rookie Jordan Westburg went 2 for 5 with an RBI double in the eighth and has five hits in his first three major league games. Adam Frazier followed with a two-run homer with two outs off Buck Farmer that tied it 7-all.
Baltimore closer Félix Bautista allowed runners to reach first and third in the ninth but then struck out the next two batters and induced a grounder to get out of the jam.
After Benson tripled and Friedl homered, Keegan Akin (2-2) threw a wild pitch that allowed another Cincinnati run to score in the 10th.
“It’s our DNA. That’s the makeup of this team,” Benson said. “We do a really good job of staying calm, especially in those situations. I think we really trust who we are as a whole.”
Alexis Díaz (3-1) pitched a scoreless ninth and Fernando Cruz closed it out.
The Orioles were trying to win their fourth straight home series but fell short.
The Reds took a 3-0 lead in the first on RBI singles by Elly De La Cruz, who snapped an 0-for-14 skid, and Jake Fraley, and a fielder’s choice by Joey Votto off Kyle Gibson.
The Orioles answered with four runs in the first off Luke Weaver on an RBI single by Ryan O’Hearn and a bases-loaded triple by Gunnar Henderson.
Weaver settled down after the first and retired 10 straight batters before Adley Rutschman singled in the fifth. Weaver has allowed 27 runs over his last seven starts (33 innings).
The Reds retook the lead 6-4 in the second on RBI singles by Friedl and Fraley and a fielder’s choice by Jonathan India.
“It’s baseball. We’re going to punch and they’re going to punch back,” Friedl said. “They have a good team over there. It was a back-and-forth game. It was a great battle between two good teams. It came down to the very end of it.”
Gibson allowed six runs and nine hits over 4 2/3 innings as he struggled for the second straight outing. In his previous start against the Mariners, Gibson lasted just three innings and gave up five runs and seven hits in a 13-1 loss.
THIEVERY
The Reds stole five bases against Rutschman, who is 9 for 51 throwing out runners on the year.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: RHP Derek Law (right elbow flexor mass strain) continued his rehab assignment for Triple-A Louisville. He allowed two hits in one scoreless inning.
UP NEXT
Reds: RHP Graham Ashcraft (3-6, 7.17 ERA) will pitch the series opener against the Padres, who will start Yu Darvish (5-6, 4.84).
Orioles: RHP Dean Kremer (8-3, 4.50) will pitch the series opener Friday against the Twins and RHP Pablo López (3-5, 4.41).
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
