Instant Reaction: De La Cruz Benson, and McLain All Homer, Reds Beat White Sox 7-1

The Reds were able to avoid the sweep.

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain hits a solo home run in the sixth inning of the MLB game between Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Thursday, May 15, 2025. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cincinnati Reds (21-24) beat the Chicago White Sox (14-30) 7-1 to avoid the sweep on Thursday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.

Here are our postgame takeaways:

Martinez Tosses a Gem

Nick Martinez has been fantastic lately and that continued on Thursday afternoon. The right-hander tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out three.

Martinez has faced 72 straight batters without issuing a walk. His ERA on the season is down to 3.66.

Home Runs Power Offense

The Reds' offense broke out on Thursday. In the first inning, they took the lead on an Austin Hays sacrifice fly.

Will Benson followed with a two-RBI single to give Cincinnati a 3-0 lead.

In the third, Elly De La Cruz hit his seventh home run of the season. Gavin Lux added an RBI groundout in the fourth to give the Reds a 5-0 advantage. Will Benson hit his first home run of the season in the fifth and Matt McLain hit his sixth home run of the season in the sixth.

The Reds had 12 hits on the day and went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

News and Notes

• The Reds are 10-3 when hitting two or more home runs in a game.
• The Reds are 17-5 when they score first.
• The Reds are 15-4 when scoring five or more runs.
• The Reds are 16-6 when allowing three or fewer runs.

Up Next

The Reds host the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night at 6:40 ET. Brady Singer will start for Cincinnati.

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