Johnny Bench was the hero today, hitting a 3-run home run in the 9th inning to give the Cincinnati Reds a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Mike Lieberthal hit a solo shot in the 2nd off Ewell Blackwell to put the Phillies on the board first. In the 5th, Chris Short walked Barry Larkin to start the inning. Joey Votto drove him home with an RBI single to tie the game. Short allowed just 6 hits in 8 innings, striking out 9. But Blackwell also allowed just 6 hits in 8 innings for the Reds. John Franco pitched a perfect 9th for Cincinnati. That’s when Ron Reed came in. Ken Griffey Jr. led off with a single, and Reed hit Larkin with the next pitch. That brought Bench up. Bench had struck out in his prior two times up, but Reed left one a little too up in the zone and Bench got just enough of it. Ed Delahanty made a leaping attempt over the wall, but a Reds fan made the play instead. A review showed that the ball had cleared the wall at the time of contact, so Bench was awarded the walk-off home run. The Reds will travel to San Francisco to face the Giants in the Loser’s Bracket tomorrow.