The Atlanta Braves were up 5-1 at one point in this game but instead of picking up a big win, they coughed it up and ended up taking a very frustrating 6-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds to start off their final road trip of the season.
The first inning was a fruitful one for the Braves, as they wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard. I mean it, too — Michael Harris II hit Brandon Williamson’s second pitch of the game deep into the seats in right-center field for a solo shot to get things going for Atlanta.
With one out on the board, Marcell Ozuna smacked a single to get on base and then Matt Olson took the third pitch he saw from Williamson and hit a moonshot that just kept flying and flying until it landed a few rows deep in the seats in right field for a two-run dinger that made it 3-0 Braves.
As you can imagine, any pitcher would be thrilled to head to the mound to start the game with a 3-0 lead and that was the case for Grant Holmes. The first inning definitely wasn’t a cakewalk for Holmes, however, as Elly De La Cruz hit a double with one out to get their offense going and then Tyler Stephenson brought Elly home with a single to make it 3-1. Holmes eventually found himself in a bases loaded situation with two out but he was able to get Santiago Espinal to fly out and end the inning right there without any further damage.
Atlanta ended up getting that run back in the next inning after Ramón Laureano hit a grounder with the bases loaded that Elly De La Cruz was unable to make a play on. That was all the Braves could muster with the bases loaded, though, as Travis d’Arnaud popped up to end the frame. Grant Holmes pitched a clean inning in the next frame and it sure seemed like this game was going to follow the winning formula of Atlanta scraping by with just enough offense while keeping their opposition quiet at the plate.
After both teams traded scoreless frames in the third inning, both teams traded one-run innings in the fourth. By this point in the game, Cincinnati was on their third pitcher Carson Spiers after he replaced Fernando Cruz who replaced Brandon Williamson, who left the game in the second inning after suffering a strained left elbow. Jorge Soler welcomed Spiers to the game by hitting a no-doubter to center field to push Atlanta’s lead to 5-1.
The Reds immediately responded, as Ty France’s leadoff double eventually turned into Jake Fraley hitting a sacrifice fly to bring him home and make it 5-2 Braves at the time. This was the end of the night for Grant Holmes and while it definitely wasn’t spectacular, he did his job while he was out there and that’s all you can ask of him in this situation.
Unfortunately for Atlanta, this was as good as it got as the next two innings went Cincinnati’s way in a major way. Jesse Chavez started the sixth inning after pitching a clean fifth inning and got the first two outs before finding himself in trouble. Santiago Espinal hit a single to start it and then Jake Fraley made it a situation after hitting a grounder that both Orlando Arcia and Gio Urshela couldn’t do anything with. That opened the door for 46 wRC+ hitter Noelvi Marte to hit an opposite-field double into the gap to bring home both Espinal and Fraley. It sure didn’t help matters that Michael Harris II didn’t field the ball cleanly and his error ended up proving costly in turning it into a one-run game.
Pierce Johnson got the ball after that moment and while he did get out of the inning, he walked the first batter he saw and also had to deal with Marte on third base after he stole it on the walk. The seventh inning saw the Braves get runners on the corners with two outs but Jorge Soler hit a harmless fly ball to center to end the inning. Johnson went out there again for Cincinnati’s half of the seventh and they jumped on him immediately. Tyler Stephenson led off the frame with a single and then Spencer Steer got a curveball from Johnson that was low but in the one and sent it flying over the wall in left field for a go-ahead two-run homer. Spencer Steer joined the 20/20 club in the process and I joined the baseball sadness club for the night.
From that point forward, Atlanta’s offense was unable to get anything going. Ramón Laureano hit a two-out single in the eighth inning but he got wiped out at second base to end the inning after Elly De La Cruz made a spectacular diving play to bring in the ball and throw out Laureano. Once the ninth inning rolled around, Orlando Arcia hit a two-out single and then pinch-runner Eli White stole second base to get into scoring position for Michael Harris II. Sadly, there would be no further deposits for Money Mike tonight, as Alexis Díaz struck him out to end the game and doom the Braves to another disappointing loss.
There’s no sugarcoating this one — with the way this pitching staff has been performing so far this season, a 5-1 lead should’ve been one that the Braves took to the bank. Instead, two bad innings ended up dooming the Braves as the Reds were able to pull off the come-from-behind victory. Just when the Braves need to be heating up, they’ve instead picked a horrible time to go on a three-game losing streak and are now in desperate need of help from the Washington Nationals (ha), the Houston Astros and the Colorado Rockies (who, credit to them, are currently up on the Diamondbacks at the moment). However, all the help in the world from other teams won’t matter one bit if the Braves can’t get the job done themselves and you just can’t blow leads like that when you’re in a Postseason race.
They’ll have a chance to right the ship tomorrow night starting at 6:40 pm E.T., which is when Spencer Schwellenbach will make the start and hopefully help to point Atlanta back in the right direction as far as the Postseason is concerned.
