Atlanta Braves
The Braves fell to the Reds by a score of 5-3 after an atrocious sixth inning let the game get out of hand. R.A. Dickey allowed three home runs, all in the same inning, and for the first time in a while played a major hand in the Braves losing.
The Braves were sporting the 1974 throwback’s last night and also struck first. Pitching for the Reds was Sal Romano, and after a tough start to the game, he was able to bounce back and make it a quality start. He got his third win of the season after going seven innings and giving up a lone, one run on five hits and struck out three. R.A. Dickey went for the Braves and pitched great for five innings, but then had a meltdown in the sixth. After his collapse in the sixth, manager Brian Snitker had seen enough. He gave up four earned runs on eight hits and put nine down on strikes. He gave up three home runs in the sixth, including back-to-back launches to Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker.
Matt Adams put the Braves on the board early with a solo-shot to lead off the second inning. Following five scoreless innings by R.A. Dickey, he gave up a two-run homer to Adam Duvall to give up the lead, making it 2-1 Reds. Unfortunately for the Braves, R.A. was never able to get back onto his feet by allowing back-to-back solo homers to Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker to make it 4-1. After Dickey’s departure, Rex Brothers struggled in the seventh inning by allowing a base hit, a hit batter and a walk to load the bases. Adam Duvall came up with the bases juiced and nobody out and proceeded to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to score a run, the only one the Reds managed to push across.
The Braves got a few runs in the eighth on an RBI groundout and a double by Tyler Flowers to make it a two-run game. In the ninth, the Braves got the tying run to the plate, but it was Brandon Phillips who hit a liner right back at the pitcher Raisel Iglesias, who he made a great snag to end the contest. The Braves left eight men on and went 1-7 with runners in scoring position, which has been the story told many times this season. Ozzie Albies had another substandard night, going 0-4 but did not strike out. Again, it was the Braves one, two and three hitters being the main production of the night. They had five hits, but not one of them scored.
Unlike a normal 7:35 start at SunTrust park, tomorrow night the teams will kick it off at 7:10, so be sure to tune in an extra 25 minutes earlier than usual on Saturday night. The game will future two right-handers in Julio Teheran and Robert Stephenson. Stephenson is making his return to the Reds staff after struggling earlier in the year and being sent to the bullpen. Julio Teheran will make the start for the Braves after making a terrific start in Colorado Tuesday.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons added another body to their roster on Friday, and it was a much needed one across the offensive line. They signed former Cleveland Brown tackle Austin Pasztor. Pasztor started all sixteen games for the Browns last season and has started in 43 of the 58 games he has played in. He has been a tackle his whole career, so look for him to play the same sort of role Tom Compton played for the team last season.