Mike Minor pitched well, but once he left the game following the 6th inning the Reds bullpen gave up seven runs as Cincinnati got trounced at Great American Ball Park on Friday night by the Atlanta Braves, 9-1.

The Offense

Trailing 2-0, Cincinnati’s offense got going in the 3rd inning. Nick Senzel led off the inning with a single and he moved up to second when Jonathan India singled. After Brandon Drury struck out it was up to Tommy Pham to try and pick up a 2-out run batted in and he did just that with a single into the right field to cut the Atlanta lead in half and make it 2-1. That was all the Reds would get on the inning. That was also the last base runner they would have until Kyle Farmer led off the 7th inning with a single. He was erased on a double play to end the inning. The next inning the Reds got two runners on after Drury was hit by a pitch and Pham picked up his third single of the night, but they were both stranded as the Braves held onto their 7-run lead. Atlanta tacked on another run and Cincinnati’s offense didn’t have an 8-run comeback in them.

The Pitching

Mike Minor hit Ronald Acuna Jr. with the 5th pitch of the game. After recording two outs he then gave up a 2-run homer to Austin Riley to put Atlanta on top in the 1st. From there the lefty settled in well, not giving up another run and throwing 6.0 innings without a walk and picking up three strikeouts. He exited the game trailing 2-1 and then the bullpen did what they do – gave up a ton of runs. Joel Kuhnel gave up three runs in the 7th. Luis Cessa gave up three more in the 8th, and before you knew it the Reds were down a touchdown. Not to be left out, though, Jeff Hoffman pitched the top of the 9th and gave up a run of his own as Atlanta padded their lead to 9-1. That was all she wrote as Cincinnati fell to 26-50 on the season.

Notes Worth Noting

In the 8th inning of the game we learned that Lucas Sims would miss the rest of the 2022 season. Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that he would be undergoing surgery for a herniated disc next week.

Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds

Atlanta Braves vs Cincinnati Reds

Saturday July 2nd, 4:10pm ET

Spencer Strider (3-2, 3.02 ERA) vs Tyler Mahle (3-6, 4.53 ERA)