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After an extraordinarily chaotic series opener, the visiting Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds continue their unconventional three-game series early Friday afternoon.
In the opener Thursday night, the Braves scored eight runs in the top of the eighth inning, only to have the Reds open the bottom of the eighth with eight straight hits, a streak that included a pair of three-run home runs, to tie the game 11-11.
It was the third time in major league history that each team scored at least eight runs in the same inning.
The Braves managed to get the game to extra innings, where Marcell Ozuna drove home Matt Olson with a sacrifice fly in the 10th for a 12-11 win.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Ozuna said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God.'”
It was the second massive collapse by the Braves’ bullpen this season. On June 5, Atlanta blew a 10-4, ninth-inning lead at home and lost 11-10 to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Ozzie Albies went 4-for-6 and drove in two runs on Thursday for the Braves, who erased an early 3-0 hole and broke open a 3-3 game with their eight-run eighth, when they sent 13 batters to the plate.
It was an up-and-down day for new Reds third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday. Hayes committed a key two-run error in the sixth inning that allowed the Braves to tie the game. He then belted a three-run homer in the eighth to ignite Cincinnati’s comeback.
“It was a little bit of everything in the game today,” Hayes said. “I missed that ball. I wished I could have that one back. I feel like we were able to battle back, tie that game back up and were able to get the winning run up at the plate. But yeah, it was a pretty crazy day. I was able to put a good swing on the ball, but ultimately I would like to get the win.”
Atlanta has won four of the five meetings this season with Cincinnati, clinching the season series for the fourth time in five years.
The Friday game is set for the unusual starting time of 12:40 p.m. ET as both teams will leave immediately after for Bristol, Tenn., and the MLB Speedway Classic on Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. The major league attendance record will be set, as more than 85,000 tickets have been sold.
The Reds send will Brady Singer (8-8, 4.60 ERA) to the mound on Friday. Against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, the right-hander earned the 2-1 win, allowing just one run on three hits over 7 1/3 innings, his longest outing of the season. He struck out eight and walked one.
It marked his sixth start of the season in which he allowed three hits or fewer and his eighth quality start in 21 outings.
Singer is 0-3 with a 7.41 ERA in three career starts against the Braves. He lost 4-0 in Atlanta on May 5 when he permitted four runs on seven hits in six innings.
The Braves will counter with right-hander Bryce Elder (4-7, 6.29 ERA). He has struggled in his past seven starts, going 2-4 with a 10.50 ERA. On Sunday at Texas, he allowed eight runs on six hits in 2 2/3 innings during an 8-1 loss to the Rangers. He fanned three and walked four.
Elder will be making his second career start against the Reds. He threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings on April 10, 2023, striking out seven, but did not record a decision.
–Field Level Media
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