1st inning:
Mike Leake got off to a fast start by striking out lead off man, Jordan Schafer to begin the game. Red-hot Andrelton Simmons then singled, but was stranded on base as Freddie Freeman flied out to left and Evan Gattis struck out.
CINCINNATI, OH - MAY 8: Mike Minor #36 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Cincinnati Reds during the game at Great American Ball Park on May 8, 2013 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
Mike Minor came out firing on all cylinders as well by getting Shin-Soo Choo and Zack Cozart to fly out to Reed Johnson in right. Minor capped off his first inning of work by striking out Joey Votto. No score after the end of the 1st inning.
2nd inning:
Dan Uggla led off the top half of the 2nd inning for the Braves and was disposed by Leake via the strikeout. Juan Francisco lined a 1-2 pitch back to the mound, deflected off of Leake to Phillips, who then threw out Francisco for the second out. Reed Johnson became Leake's 4th strikeout victim as the Braves were retired in order.
Brandon Phillips led off the bottom of the 2nd with a one-out double over the head of Jordan Schafer. Minor, who had walked only five batters all season coming into today, allowed back-to-back walks to Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier to load the bases with no outs. Donald Lutz hit a fly ball to Gattis who made the catch and guns down Brandon Phillips at the plate to complete the double play. Minor officially got out of the 2nd inning mess by forcing Mesoraco to ground out to Simmons. No score after 2 innings.
3rd inning:
Leading off the inning for the Braves was Gerald Laird, who was making his first start since April 29th. He was hit by pitch, but was quickly retired as Minor sac bunt attempt failed, leading to a 1-6 fielder's choice. Schafer and Simmons followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases with one out. Up next was 2-out RBI machine, Freddie Freeman. Unfortunately for the Braves, Freeman was unable to come through and grounded into the 4-6-3 double play to end the Braves half of the 3rd.
Mike Leake, who has had some success against Minor, led off the bottom half of the 3rd for the Reds. Minor quickly gets rid of him via the strikeout. Shin-Soo Choo followed with a ground out to Uggla at second. On the 3-2 pitch, Zack Cozart lines a solo home run over the left field wall, giving the Reds the early 1-0 lead. Joey Votto flied out to Gattis in right to end the inning. Reds lead 1-0 after 3 innings.
4th inning:
Evan Gattis led off the 4th inning for the Braves and struck out for the second time in as many appearances. Next up was Dan Uggla, who has warmed up considerably over the last few games. Uggla absolutely torched the first pitch of the at-bat from Leake and deposited the ball into the left field seats to tie the game, 1-1. Juan Francisco and Reed Johnson both grounded out to Phillips at second to end the Braves half of the 4th.
Mike Minor made quick work of the Reds in the bottom of the inning. Brandon Phillips flied out to Reed Johnson in right for the first out. Jay Bruce followed with a fly out to Schafer in center. Minor then struck out Frazier to retire the side. 1-1 tie after 4 innings.
5th inning:
Gerald Laird again the led off the inning, but grounded out to Frazier at third for the first out. Leake then struck out Minor for the second out. With two outs in the inning, Schafer laced a triple, the third for the Braves in the last four games. But Schafer was stranded at third as Simmons grounded out to Cozart at short.
Mike Minor continued to cruise along as Donald Lutz led off with a ground out right back to Minor for out number one. Devin Mesoraco, who hit the game-tying home run off Kimbrel last night, flied out to Schafer in center for the second out. Leake singled off Minor, his second hit in six at-bats against Minor. Nut was stranded as Minor struck out Choo to end the inning. 1-1 tie after 5 innings.
6th inning:
CINCINNATI, OH - MAY 8: Dan Uggla #26 of the Atlanta Braves hits his second home run of the game in the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on May 8, 2013 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Braves won 7-2. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
Freddie Freeman led off the 6th with a 4-pitch walk, but was quickly erased as Gattis grounded into the 4-3 double play. On the 3-2 pitch, Uggla continued his torrid streak and obliterated another Mike Leake pitch into the left field seats for his second home run of the game and the seventh this season. Francisco popped out to Votto to end the Braves half of the 6th.
Minor's dominance continued as Cozart flied out to Gattis for the first out. Minor then struck out Votto and Phillips to retire the Reds in order in the 6th. Braves lead 2-1 after 6 innings.
7th inning:
Reed Johnson led off the 7th with a fly out to Lutz in left for the first out of the inning. Gerald Laird then pops out to Votto in foul territory for out number two. Leake was able to get Minor to ground out to Cozart at short to retire the Braves in order.
Minor easily retired the first two batters of the inning by getting Jay Bruce to fly out to Schafer in center and struck out Todd Frazier. Lutz then laced a 2-out to single to walk and Mesoraco followed with a walk. Instead of going with a pinch hitter, Reds manager Dusty Baker opted to keep Leake in the game to hit for himself and promptly flew out to Justin Upton in left, who came in to replace Evan Gattis. Braves lead 2-1 after 7 innings.
8th inning:
CINCINNATI, OH - MAY 8: Juan Francisco #25 of the Atlanta Braves hits a grand slam home run in the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds during the game at Great American Ball Park on May 8, 2013 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
Jordan Schafer led off the inning with a line drive single to right. Simmons followed with a single as well, his 3rd hit of the afternoon so far. That spelled the end of Mike Leake who pitched impressively against this Braves lineup. Sean Marshall came in to replace Leake and Freddie Freeman greets him rudely with an RBI single to score Schafer as the Braves extend their lead to 3-1. Marshall was quickly replaced by JJ Hoover who then walked Justin Upton to load the bases for Uggla. Dan didn't come through this time as he grounds into the 6-2 force out, but the bases remained loaded with one out. Up next was Juan Francisco, who was traded to the Braves in 2012 for JJ Hoover, who so happened to be on the mound. Juan Francisco proved to that the Braves won that trade as he hit a laser over the right field wall for his first career grand slam, opening up the lead, 7-1. Reed Johnson then walked, but Hoover was able to retire Laird and pinch hitter Chris Johnson to retire the side.
Anthony Varvaro came in to pitch for the Braves and quickly struck out Shin-Soo Choo for the first out. Zack Cozart singled off of Varvaro (literally) with one out. Cozart was stranded as Votto grounded out to Freeman at first and Phillips grounded out to Francisco at third to end the inning. Braves lead 7-1 after 8 innings.
9th inning:
Alfredo Simon came in to pitch the 9th for the Reds and quickly retired Schafer for the first out. Simmons doubles on a soft line drive to right, his 4th hit of the day and 8th hit of the series. Simmons was stranded as Freeman flied out to Lutz in left and Justin Upton grounded out to Frazier at third.
Varvaro stayed in to finish off the game, but quickly gave up a solo home run to Jay Bruce to pull the Reds to within five runs. Todd Fraizer followed with a single, but Varvaro settled down as he got Lutz to pop out to Simmons and struck out Mesoraco and pinch hitter Jack Hannahan to end the ball game. Braves win 7-2 and take 2 of 3 from the defending NL Central champs.
WP: Mike Minor (4-2) LP: Mike Leake (2-2)
Player(s) of the Game - Mike Minor/Braves offense
Mike Minor pitched another gem this afternoon, allowing one run on four hits, walked three batters, and struck out seven over seven innings as he won his fourth ballgame of 2013 and lowers his ERA to 2.96.
Braves offense came through without the likes of Brian McCann, BJ Upton, and Justin Upton (for 6 innings) as the offense put a seven runs, highlighted by Dan Uggla's 2 home runs and Juan Francisco's 1st career grand slam.
Conclusion:
Huge start to the 10-game road trip for the Braves as they took 2 out of 3 from the Reds. The Braves are the first road team this season to win a series in Cincinnati. Braves head out west to San Francisco to begin a 4-game weekend series with the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants. Julio Teheran is set to pitch tomorrow night. His last start was skipped due to last Saturday's rain out against the Mets. Opposing Teheran will be Ryan Vogelsong of the Giants.
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