Reds enjoy 'fun atmosphere' at Bristol despite stalled offense

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- There was no checkered flag, no visit to victory lane for the Reds at Bristol Motor Speedway.

After rain forced an extra day to complete the first-of-its-kind Speedway Classic, the Reds were unable to cash in on multiple chances and were handed a 4-2 defeat by the Braves on Sunday. They dropped two of three in the series that began on Thursday in Cincinnati.

“That’s a tough loss right there," said reliever Brent Suter, who took over on the mound in the second inning. "We got a fun atmosphere. I’m very grateful to be playing in this one, but once it came down between the lines, we were 100 percent committed to winning and doing everything we could.”

The Reds leaned into the racing theme of the event on Saturday and even enjoyed a clubhouse visit from the pregame concert performers, Tim McGraw and Pitbull. But the primary objective of the trip was to win and keep their postseason chances strong. At 58-54, Cincinnati is trying to keep pace with the Padres, who are holding on to the final National League Wild Card berth.

Saturday's rain put both clubs in a tough spot as the Reds used rookie Chase Burns for an 18-pitch perfect first inning with two strikeouts before play stopped. That made Burns unavailable to continue when play resumed Sunday, forcing a bullpen day to finish.

“You deal with what is thrown at you, and hopefully when something does get thrown at you, you deal with it to a point that we can win a game. And we didn’t," manager Terry Francona said. "We were unfortunate, I admit that. But that doesn’t mean we can’t win the game.”

Burns, the 22-year-old rookie and the Reds' top prospect who grew up in Tennessee, said the game in his home state was still a good time.

“Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. First MLB game in Tennessee. I had fun and I was grateful for it," he said. "Mother Nature didn’t want us to play, but it is what it is. I got my inning in. It was a cool experience.”

Cincinnati used five relievers to get through the rest of it.

“We were all thinking, ‘Hey let’s win this game. All hands on deck. Let’s do whatever we can to do it.' Obviously, the circumstances, there’s adversity there," Suter said. "But this is the big leagues. If you’re afraid of adversity, see ya. It’s part of the gig.”

Suter gave up the first of two home runs to Eli White, with the three-run drive to left field in the top of the second giving Atlanta the lead. White added a leadoff homer to left-center against right-hander Scott Barlow in the seventh.

When play resumed in the bottom of the first inning as the Reds held a 1-0 lead with two on, the Braves turned to a rookie pitcher in Hurston Waldrep. Elly De La Cruz and Austin Hays executed a double steal. But De La Cruz was out on a Miguel Andujar fielder's choice play to third base and no more runs crossed. Waldrep pitched effectively for 5 2/3 innings.

The Reds, who stranded 12 men on base, had two on and two out in the eighth inning and came up empty.

“We kept thinking that we’re going to tie this or keep it going, but we just couldn’t get a big hit," Francona said. "We definitely had opportunities.”

Perhaps the best shot at taking the game came in the ninth inning after TJ Friedl lined a leadoff single to center field against Braves closer Raisel Iglesias. Matt McLain came oh-so-close to a game-tying home run when his opposite-field drive was knocked down near the top of the right-field wall by White. Because Friedl had to hold up for a potential catch, McLain was limited to a single.

“I thought it had a chance, but you never know. It didn’t go out. Stuff happens," McLain said. "Sometimes balls go out, sometimes they don’t. Hit it harder next time.”

After Iglesias struck out De La Cruz, Hays popped out foul near first base. Pinch-hitter Jake Fraley popped out to third base to end the game.

There were still lasting memories made from the game, which drew a record crowd of 91,032 fans to the famed motorsports venue. However, getting a win was certainly more necessary as the Reds head to Chicago for a key three-game series vs. the Cubs.

“It’s all about the game," McLain said. "The stuff before was amazing. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but at the end of the day, it’s a baseball game and we didn’t win, so it’s unfortunate. But we’ve got another one tomorrow.”