Benson batted ninth and went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored in Tuesday's 2-0 win over San Diego.
Benson had been Cincinnati's leadoff batter against right-handers since TJ Friedl (thumb) was placed on the 10-day injured list last week. Rookie Jacob Hurtubise took on the role Tuesday with Benson sliding to the bottom of the order. Benson had gone 4-for-18 with two walks and two home runs over his last five games as the leadoff batter. It's unclear if this will be manager David Bell's plan going forward until Friedl is ready.
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Reds' Will Benson: Swats leadoff homer
Rotowire
Benson went 1-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Thursday's 7-2 win over the Dodgers.
Benson homered to lead off the game, his second long ball in three games and sixth of the season. He's batted leadoff in all three contests, taking the spot normally reserved for TJ Friedl (thumb), and has hit safely in all three. It's overall been a rough start to the season for Benson, who's slashing .196/.290/.406 while striking out an alarming 40.1 percent of the time.
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Reds' Will Benson: Goes deep in win
Rotowire
Benson started in center field and batted leadoff, going 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 6-2 win over Arizona.
Benson delivered the go-ahead knock in the fifth inning, his first home run since April 27. With TJ Friedl (thumb) landing on the injured list, Benson is likely to shift over to center field against right-handers, while Stuart Fairchild rotates in against lefties. Benson's hit the ball hard, per Statcast, but he has little show for it (.193 batting average, .393 slugging).
Benson went 0-for-4 with a walk in Sunday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to San Francisco.
As has been customary of late, Benson found himself on the bench to start the game against a lefty, but he was needed when TJ Friedl was removed in the second inning with a thumb injury. Benson, whose average has hovered around .200 since April 19, is just 3-for-25 (.120) over 10 games during the month of May.
Benson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Benson and fellow lefty hitter Jake Fraley will head to the bench Wednesday while southpaw Jordan Montgomery toes the slab for Arizona. Stuart Fairchild and Luke Maile will join the lineup as the starters in right field and designated hitter, respectively, while Benson and Fraley sit.
