Speedway Classic replay: Cincinnati Reds fall to Braves at Bristol Motor Speedway
The Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves already started their one-off game at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 2, but it was twice delayed by rain before it was suspended. Aug. 3 will see the times pick-up where they left off and attempt to complete a full game.
Here's where things stand in Bristol:
The Braves defeat the Reds in the inaugural Speedway Classic
The Atlanta Braves won the Speedway Classic, and the three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.
It took parts of two days, but the Braves and Reds completed the Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway and Atlanta prevailed, 4-2.
The Reds first two batters of the ninth reached base but Elly De La Cruz, Austin Hays and pinch-hitter Jake Fraley struck out, popped out, and popped out, respectively, to end the game.
Braves pitcher Hurston Waldrep and Eli White keyed the victory. Waldrep allowed just three hits and one run in five 2/3 innings against Cincinnati, and White provided all of Atlanta's offense. He hit a three-run homer in the third inning to put the Braves ahead, 3-1, and a solo shot in the seventh to reestablish a two-run lead at 4-2.
Waldrep was the winning pitcher while Cincinnati's Brent Suter, who allowed White's three-run homer, took the loss.
Following a season-long nine-game homestand that took 10 days to complete, Cincinnati will play its next seven games on the road against the Chicago Cubs (Aug. 4-6) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (Aug. 7-11).
Reds down to their last at-bat at the Speedway Classic
The Reds have been blanked since the second inning. If they're going to win or extend the Speedway Classic, it's going to take some ninth-inning heroics. The Braves are in front, 4-2, on Eli White's two-homer game (four RBI). The Cincinnati bats were stifled by pitcher Hurston Waldrep, who entered the game for the resumption of play and allowed one run in five and 2/3 innings on three hits.
Speedway Classic: An encounter with Colossus
The massive scoreboard suspended by cables over the Speedway Classic is called Colossus, and they're very proud of it here. It's one of the larger scoreboards of its kind in the world. It's at a height for this baseball game that ground rules had to be determined for any ball that made contact with the cables and the scoreboard itself.
Atlanta's Drake Baldwin hit a ball onto the scoreboard in the top of the eighth inning, and Reds third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes caught the ball cleanly off the deflection. Both teams went into the game knowing that the scoreboard was considered out of play, so you can't field a ball off of it.
No one seemed totally certain about the status of the play, including the third base umpire, until the home plate umpire indicated there was no live ball.
Braves' Eli White homers again vs. Reds in Speedway Classic
Atlanta's Eli White put another ball out beyond the left field wall and onto the race track at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was a solo home run off Cincinnati's Scott Barlow, and the Reds are trailing by two again at 4-2.
Reds still trailing Braves in Speedway Classic
The game is moving along at a normal clip for a modern baseball game, and we're about to start the sixth inning with the Reds still trailing Atlanta, 3-2. Cincinnati has four at-bats left to get in front, which would go a long way toward making the Speedway Classic worth all the trouble.
Reds get a run back, eat into Braves' lead at Speedway Classic
Cincinnati loaded the bases with one out, and Matt McLain's sacrifice fly drove in Tyler Stephenson to cut the Braves' lead to 3-2. For the second at-bat, the Reds didn't take full advantage of a scoring threat and left a runner in scoring position.
Braves take the lead in the Speedway Classic
Brent Suter allowed two singles and then a three-run homer by Atlanta's Eli White in the bottom of the second inning. That's not what Cincinnati envisioned for resuming play today.
Also, a sports car car with a flag bearing the words "HOME RUN" hanging out the window went speeding through a turn onto the back stretch at Bristol Motor Speedway. That's how we'll punctuate home runs at Bristol, apparently.
Off and running at Bristol
The Reds couldn't plate another run in the bottom of the first. Pitcher Brent Suter is on the mound for the Reds.
Where things stand in the Speedway Classic
When play restarts Aug. 3, Cincinnati will be batting in the bottom of the first inning with a 1-0 lead and one out. Austin Hays singled to drive in Matt McLain for the opening run of the contest.
The newly-acquired Miguel Andujar is scheduled to bat next. Elly De La Cruz is on second base and Hays is on first base.
More: How delayed Speedway Classic made Reds playoff road more difficult
Reds starter Chase Burns is done for this game. For Atlanta, Spencer Strider won't appear, and neither will Austin Cox after he opened the game on the mound for the Braves. All of this is related to player health and attempting to avoid injury.
Reds manager Terry Francona announced Brent Suter will pitch for Cincinnati when the Braves come to bat in the top of the second inning, and Cincinnati will be hopeful Suter can give them some innings so as not to tax their bullpen too heavily. Today was going to be an important off day for the entire Reds roster, and especially the relief pitchers.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Speedway Classic replay: Braves defeat Reds at Bristol Motor Speedway
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