Offense Naps, Dingers Haunt. ATL 4, CIN 1.

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

I dunno.

Do you know?

Ryan Ludwick seems like the best choice, I suppose, as his bat provided the only real offense of the evening, and he made a catch that, at the time, seemed like it could've been pretty important.  Yeah, that's the ticket! Luddy gets the nod!

Honorable Mention is due to:  Jay Bruce, who walked twice; Brandon Phillips, who got a hit; and Mike Leake, who waded through 7 innings in just 83 pitches, and while he lobbed up his share of meatballs, he did strike out 4 Braves (while walking none).

Key Plays

• An early 2-out rally launched the Reds into what was perceivably a solid start to the evening.  Brandon Phillips lined a single up the middle that deflected off the pitcher into CF to start the rally in the Top of the 1st, and after Bruce drew a walk, Ludwick crushed a David Hale pitch deep to CF that came a foot short of being a 3-run HR.  As it was, it went for a double, and Phillips came in to score.  Reds led, 1-0.
• A B.J. Upton "single" off Leake's glove with 1-out in the Bottom of the 1st - his 1,000th career hit - put a man on for when Leake faced Freddie Freeman, and therefore, Freeman's dinger cost the Reds a pair of runs.  Reds trailed, 2-1.
• The Reds didn't get a hit.
• The Reds didn't get a hit, again.
• In the Bottom of the 3rd, Leake was in charge of supplying the cheese plate for the stadium, and the Atlanta Braves hitters lined up in a hurry.  Freeman hit an opposite field shot that nearly cleared the wall save for a great catch from Ludwick, and both Justin Upton and Evan Gattis topped that by smashing deep dingers of their own to follow.  Reds trailed, 4-1.
• Once again, the Reds failed to get a hit.
• A hit failed to register in the outcomes of Reds PAs.
• Not hit is what the Reds did.
• The Reds wanted to get a hit, but could not.
• The Reds asked Mom for a hit, but she said no.  The Reds were sly, however, so they went searching for Dad to ask him for a hit, too, but even though they answered no when Dad asked them if they'd already asked Mom, he said no, too.
• The Reds' hit detector went off, and when they busted out their shovels and excitedly dug looking for the hit they thought was there, they ended up just finding Steve-O hitting himself in the big toe with a hammer.  It wasn't as funny as it used to be, either.  Reds lose, 4-1.

FanGraph That ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Source: FanGraphs

Other Notes

• This game was the equivalent of running over a pile of dog poop while mowing your lawn in shorts.
• Devin Mesoraco was placed on the 15 day DL prior to the game with a hamstring strain, Todd Frazier didn't play due to a groin issue, and the Reds went 8/9ths of the following game getting no-hit.  In fact, aside from Ludwick's Top of the 1st double and liner in the Top of the 4th, the Reds didn't hit a single ball hard all night.  Not once.
• David Hale - the Braves pitcher who just blew through the Reds lineup - is a 26 year old rookie who owns a career 25-28 record in the minors that includes a 1.35 WHIP and 2.02 K/BB.
• Back in the Summer of '88, the Reds didn't know how to rock n' roll.