Will Benson's first 2-homer game leads Reds to 3-1 win and 3-game sweep of Guardians

CINCINNATI (AP) — Will Benson had his first two-homer game, going deep for the fourth straight day to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-1 victory on Sunday and their first three-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians since 2012.

Benson followed Tyler Stephenson's fourth-inning single with a 399-foot drive to right off L.L. Ortiz (2-5) then added a sixth-inning shot off Hunter Gaddis for his fifth home run this season. The Reds won their fourth straight and got back to .500 at 24-24.

Cleveland (25-21) has lost four in a row and the first three of a 10-game trip.

Andrew Abbott (3-0) allowed four hits and three walks in five shutout innings for his first win in five starts — despite giving up one earned run over 20 innings.

Emilio Pagán got a save for the third day in a row and 12th time in 14 chances. He gave up a leadoff double to Bo Naylor and a one-out infield hit to José Ramírez, then struck out Carlos Santana on a splitter on the 10th pitch of the at-bat and Will Brennan on three pitches, the last a splitter.

Carlos Santana hit a two-out RBI single in the seventh against Luis Mey.

Ortiz allowed six hits in five innings with seven strikeouts.

Ramírez went 2 for 5 and extending his hitting streak to 12 games.

Abbott hit a batter and walked two, loading the bases with one out in the first, then struck out Jhonkensy Noel and retired Angel Martínez on a lineout. He became the first Reds starter to not allow a hit in the first inning of his first nine starts since Jim Maloney in 1969.

Benson's streak of games with home runs is the longest for the Reds since Joey Votto homered in seven straight games in 2021.

Guardians LHP Logan Allen (2-2, 3.70) starts Monday's opener of a three-game series with the Twins against RHP Bailey Ober (4-1, 3.72).

Reds LHP Nick Lodolo (3-4, 3.42) starts Monday at the Pirates and RHP Mitch Keller (1-5, 4.15 ERA).

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Cleveland Guardians' Bo Naylor scores on a single hit by Carlos Santana during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Sunday, May 18, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Reds' Rece Hinds (57) celebrates with teammates Will Benson (30) and TJ Friedl (29) following a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Saturday, May 17, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Reds' Will Benson (30) celebrates with teammates Connor Joe (17) and TJ Friedl (29) following a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Sunday, May 18, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Reds' Will Benson gestures as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Cincinnati Reds' Will Benson hits a single during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Sunday, May 18, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Harrison Smith's 14th year as a steadying presence and energizing force in the secondary for the Minnesota Vikings has hardly been smooth.

The undisclosed health-related matter that sidelined him during training camp was a major setback to his conditioning, putting him in catch-up mode for most of the first half of the season. The Vikings defense was more vulnerable than usual over those early games, too.

Then with the offense struggling through the developmental process with quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings stumbled through November to drop to 4-8 and precipitate their elimination from playoff contention.

But lately?

“I’ve been playing football a long time,” Smith said after Minnesota's victory over the Detroit Lions on Christmas Day, “and I have not had fun like that in my whole career.”

Smith received the NFC Defensive Player of the Week award for that performance in his 206th regular-season game, after logging three passes defensed, two tackles for loss, one sack and one interception. He last won that award in 2018.

With career totals of 21½ sacks and 39 interceptions, Smith is just the second player in NFL history to hit those marks, behind Pro Football Hall of Fame member Ronde Barber, who had 28 sacks and 47 interceptions. Smith is also one of four players all time, with Barber, Brian Dawkins and Charles Woodson, to total at least 50 tackles for loss, 100 passes defensed and 200 regular-season games played. Smith (202) also trails only Jim Marshall (270) and Mick Tingelhoff (240) on the team’s all-time list for career starts.

Following the interception against the Lions, Smith was feted on the sideline in a circle of his teammates. He was the recipient of multiple ovations from the U.S. Bank Stadium crowd. Afterward, as Smith tried to sum up what that experience meant to him, his voice cracked several times before he had to pause to compose himself.

“The fans here have never experienced a Super Bowl. They always show up, and for them to keep showing up ... it just shows how much they love the team, how much they love everything that goes into it," Smith said. “We’re out of the playoffs, and everybody shows up in white. They do their part, and one of these days they’ll get it.”

The scene sure felt like a farewell. But so did Smith's emotional postgame remarks after the Vikings were ousted from the playoffs last season.

Could he envision himself returning for a 15th year?

“I can’t speak on that right now. I’m a very much in-the-moment type of guy,” Smith said.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, who has forged a close relationship with the six-time Pro Bowl safety, has made no secret of his desire to keep Smith in place.

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has turned over some of the play-calling and decision-making to Smith on the field before and after the snap, and an increased emphasis on blitzing in recent weeks has paid plenty of dividends.

"He has an unbelievable feel of the system. He has an unbelievable feel of what ‘Flo’ and the defensive staff really want to do, and he’s out there playing a game within the game,” O’Connell said. “It’s been spectacular to watch. It’s been awesome from my perspective to watch what he’s able to do at this point in his career mentally, and then physically he’s making a lot of plays as well.”

The uncertainty about next season for the defense stretches beyond Smith, with other expensive veterans facing the possibility of being released for cost savings with the Vikings projected to be well over the salary cap approaching the 2026 league year.

Then there's Flores, whose contract will soon expire, making him a free agent. Though his landmark discrimination lawsuit against the NFL that’s still in the court system nearly four years later continues to loom over any interviews he gets for head coach openings, there's also an opening for another club to try to lure him away with a break-the-bank offer for a lateral move.

O'Connell said this week that he doesn't anticipate such a scenario playing out and hopes to have him as long as he can before he's hired again as a head coach.

“I love Minnesota. I love this team. I love working for and with K.O.," said Flores, who was head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019-21 and joined the Vikings in 2023. "This place has shown me a lot of love, and I show them right back, and so I don’t know how much more there is to it. From a football standpoint, it fits. There’s always a, let’s call it, business part of this. But the football all lines up. We’ll just see where it all goes.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) throws under pressure from Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith (22) during the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores stands on the sideline before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)