Reds erase Atlanta’s four-run first inning as Rodríguez’s sixth-inning homer seals 7-6 win

A four-run inning still wasn’t enough

The Braves looked ready to turn this into a comfortable night almost immediately. After Carlos Jorge opened the scoring with a first-inning homer for Cincinnati, Atlanta answered with four runs in the bottom half: Matt Olson’s sacrifice fly brought home Drake Baldwin, Michael Harris II doubled in Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies reached on an infield single that scored Harris II, and Austin Riley added a sacrifice fly for a 4-1 lead.

That should have been a platform game. Instead, it became a warning that Atlanta’s offense was creating traffic without fully taking control of the scoreboard. The Braves finished with 12 hits, four walks and two stolen bases, but they also stranded 15 runners. Cincinnati, by contrast, spent much of the night doing its damage in clean, punishing bursts.

The comeback began with Matt McLain’s RBI single in the second, then accelerated in the third. Elly De La Cruz cut the deficit to one with a home run to right, and Eugenio Suárez followed later in the inning with a two-run single that brought home Sal Stewart and Tyler Stephenson for a 5-4 Reds lead. Riley’s 421-foot homer in the bottom of the third tied it, but by then the game had already shifted from Atlanta’s fast start to Cincinnati’s harder contact.

Rodríguez supplied the loudest answer

Atlanta did reclaim the lead in the fifth when Mike Yastrzemski singled home Mauricio Dubón, making it 6-5. It was a useful response, but not a lasting one. In the sixth, Hector Rodríguez delivered the game’s defining swing, driving a 423-foot homer to right that scored Suárez and flipped the score back to 7-6. That one swing accounted for the final margin and gave Cincinnati its third home run of the night.

That power display is what made the Reds’ line so striking. Seven hits usually do not produce seven runs unless the contact comes with force, and Cincinnati got exactly that from Jorge, De La Cruz and Rodríguez. Suárez’s two-run single and McLain’s RBI single filled in the rest. Rodríguez finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, while Suárez drove in two and scored once despite collecting only one hit.

There was still work left for Cincinnati’s pitching staff, because Atlanta kept putting men aboard. Brady Singer lasted only 3.0 innings and allowed five runs on seven hits. But after Zach McCambley gave up one run in 1.2 innings, Connor Phillips, Tejay Antone, Brock Burke and Emilio Pagán combined to cover the final 4.1 innings without allowing another run. On Atlanta’s side, Tyler Mahle gave up five runs over 5.0 innings, and AJ Smith-Shawver was charged with the decisive two runs in the sixth before Dylan Dodd supplied two scoreless innings.

Our take: damage beat volume

This is the sort of loss that should irritate Atlanta more than a quiet offensive night would have. The Braves were not short on baserunners, and they were not shut down after the first. They simply did not turn enough of their opportunities into crooked numbers. After the four-run opening inning, Atlanta managed only Riley’s solo homer in the third and Yastrzemski’s RBI single in the fifth. Twelve hits and four walks should usually feel larger than six runs; the 15 runners left on base explain why it didn’t.

If there is an adjustment to consider for Atlanta, it starts with cashing in more of the traffic its top of the order helped create. Baldwin, Acuña Jr., Harris II and Dubón combined for nine hits and five runs scored, yet the club still came up one run short. That points less to a lack of opportunities than to a lack of finish in the middle innings. The Braves also needed a cleaner bridge after Mahle exited, because Smith-Shawver faced only seven hitters and the Rodríguez homer decided the game.

For Cincinnati, the encouraging part is obvious: the Reds won a game in which they were down 4-1 after one inning and were outhit 12-7. The caution is just as obvious. Falling behind that quickly and allowing 16 Braves to reach via hits or walks is not a formula to lean on. What saved Cincinnati was the combination of three home runs and a bullpen that limited Atlanta to one run over the final six innings. On this night, that mix was enough. Over time, the Reds would likely prefer not to need such a sharp contrast between early trouble and late rescue.

Scoring moments

1. 1st Inning

   Jorge homered to right (385 feet).

2. 1st Inning

   Olson hit sacrifice fly to right, Baldwin scored.

3. 1st Inning

   Harris II doubled to center, Acuña Jr. scored.

4. 1st Inning

   Albies reached on infield single to first, Harris II scored, Dubón to second.

5. 1st Inning

   Riley hit sacrifice fly to center, Dubón scored.

6. 2nd Inning

   McLain singled to center, Rodríguez scored.

7. 3rd Inning

   De La Cruz homered to right (402 feet).

8. 3rd Inning

   Suárez singled to center, Stewart scored and Stephenson scored.

9. 3rd Inning

   Riley homered to center (421 feet).

10. 5th Inning

    Yastrzemski singled to center, Dubón scored.

11. 6th Inning

    Rodríguez homered to right (423 feet), Suárez scored.