The Atlanta Braves will go for a rare three-game sweep of Cincinnati when they host the Reds in the series finale on Wednesday.
The Braves have not swept the Reds in Atlanta since April 2014. The series has been very competitive, with Atlanta winning 10 of 19 at Truist Park since the facility opened in 2017. The Braves have won the season series 4-3 in each of the past two seasons, but prior to 2021, they had not won a season series with the Reds since 2014.
Atlanta has won the first two games of the series, 5-4 on Sean Murphy’s walk-off homer in the 10th inning on Monday, and 7-6 on Tuesday when Ozzie Albies picked up his 100th career home run.
The pitching matchup for the finale features Atlanta’s Spencer Strider (1-0, 2.45 ERA) against fellow right-hander Hunter Greene (0-0, 5.63).
Strider did not receive a decision in his most recent start on Thursday, a 7-6 defeat of the San Diego Padres. He pitched five innings and allowed three runs on four hits with nine strikeouts and three walks. Strider has struck out nine in each of his first two starts.
“It’s just a matter of continuing to find the mechanical consistency,” Strider said. “There’s a lot of positives to take away. Obviously, I’d like to not hand four innings to the bullpen.”
Strider has made two career appearances, one start, against the Reds, going 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA. Strider has 16 strikeouts and one walk in eight innings against Cincinnati.
Greene will be making his second career start against the Braves. He made his major league debut at Atlanta’s Truist Park on April 10, 2022, and came away with a 6-3 win. He fanned two in each of his first three innings, finished with seven, and didn’t allow a hit until Matt Olson singled to start the fourth.
Greene was Cincinnati’s pitcher on Opening Day against Pittsburgh. In his most recent start on Friday in Philadelphia, Greene pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowed two runs and did not get a decision. In two starts he has combined to allow five runs in eight innings, but has given up only one home run.
The Reds lost both games.
Now that Albies has his 100th career homer, the Braves will have two teammates reach that milestone when Austin Riley goes deep for the next time. The last time two Braves hit their 100th homer in the same season came in 1996, when Chipper Jones and Javy Lopez accomplished the feat.
Cincinnati third baseman Spencer Steer has hit safely in seven of 10 games. On Tuesday he was 3-for-4, lifting his average to .314, with a double and two RBIs. On the current road trip, Steer is 7-for-19 (.368) with three doubles, one home run and four RBIs.
Left fielder Jake Fraley was 2-for-2 on Tuesday before being lifted for a pinch-hitter. He has hit safely in seven of nine games. He is 5-for-14 on the road trip with a double and five RBIs.
“Our offense is grinding out at-bats, trying to be tough outs,” Steer said. “They can’t put you away because you’re staying with it. Grinding out the at-bats has helped us.”
–Field Level Media
