With two veteran serviceable but uninspiring pitchers on the mound in the Great American Ballpark, this had the looks of a high-scoring affair on paper.
Six batters were all it took to get through the first inning, as Martin Perez walked the only baserunner and got a double-play to erase him. The Braves struck first in the second, as Ozzie Albie doubled and came around to score after a Dubon walk and a Yaz single. Dubon was caught with a big lead at third on a throw-down by Stephenson at catcher, but the throw was low and bounced off the bag. Dubon came home and the throw from Suarez beat him there, as he was called out. He appeared to have eluded the tag on replay and the Braves challenged, but the call stood due to lack of clear and convincing evidence, though it feels like a call that would have been “confirmed” as safe if Dubon had been originally called safe. Not a great MLB replay challenge system moment, but the Braves had a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the second inning.
Perez walked Steer with one out in the second and then gave up a homer to JJ Bleday, as the Reds took the 2-1 lead. Ronald Acuna brought us level in the third with an opposite field homer of his own, as this was starting to look like the slugfest we expected.
The scoring resumed in the fifth, as Jorge Mateo jumped on a Singer breaking ball for a big solo homer to give the Braves a 1-run lead. Still with two outs in the fifth, Ronald, Harris, and Olson walked to load the bases for Ozzie. Ozzie flied out to extinguish the threat.
Tyler Kinley took over for Perez in the sixth and worked a quick 1-2-3 frame with a strikeout, as he has bounced back from a rough patch. Matt Olson gave Atlanta a big insurance run for a 4-2 lead with another solo homer in the seventh. The Death Star that is the back of the Braves’ bullpen was brought in and Lee and Suarez did their part with a scoreless 7th and 8th inning. Just to make sure we knew he is fully back and in peak form, Ronald Acuna launched another homer in the ninth, giving Raisel Iglesias a third run’s worth of cushion as he goes for another save. Raisel did his part and worked a 1-2-3 inning, securing a 5-2 victory on the night, a series win in Cincy, and a chance for a sweep on Sunday.
Join us tomorrow as the Braves go for that sweep with Spencer Strider on the mound at 1:40 PM ET.