Takeaways: Reds Outslug Braves to End Win Streak

Two of the hottest teams in baseball conducted a slugfest on Friday night, and was the Cincinnati Reds who outlasted the Atlanta Braves, 11-10.

Jake Mastroianni | Jun 23, 2023

Two of the hottest teams in baseball conducted a slugfest on Friday night, and was the Cincinnati Reds who outlasted the Atlanta Braves, 11-10.

The Braves had won eight in a row coming in and the Reds eleven.

It looked like it was the Braves that would continue their win streak after putting up 5 runs in the first inning, but in front of a packed house the Reds mounted the comeback and kept their streak alive.

Pitching Struggles with Command

Great American Ball Park can be tough on any pitcher, but it makes matters worse when you're giving the other team free bases.

AJ Smith-Shawver got off to a good start, but the young righty wound up getting himself in trouble walking four batters and hitting one.

The walks were compounded as he gave up 3 home runs.

Atlanta's bullpen couldn't control things much better as they hit two batters and walked four more leading to 6 runs that allowed the Reds to pull away.

This Offense is Never Out of it

After blowing a 5-0 lead, the offense went back to work and gave the team a 7-5 lead after a Matt Olson 2-run homer - his first of two on the night.

Then the Reds went up 11-7 after the sixth inning and hope looked lost, but then Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley, and Matt Olson all went deep in the eighth to bring the Braves within a run.

The offense out-hit the Reds 16-9 on the night and had 7 extra-base hits.

The Reds are Fun

While I hate the Braves had to take the brunt of this one, what the Reds are doing right now is great for baseball. They had a sellout on Friday night with over 43,000 people in attendance to watch this Reds team. Elly De La Cruz, who hit for the cycle in this game, is one of the more exciting players in all of baseball. It's really great for this fanbase and the city that has been through some rough years.

The Reds and Braves will battle again on Saturday with Jared Shuster going against Graham Ashcraft at 4:10 PM ET. The game broadcast, with Voice of the Braves Brandon Gaudin, is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports Southeast and is available on MLB.TV outside of the broadcast area. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.

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Published Jun 23, 2023

JAKE MASTROIANNI