Reds lose to Braves in extra innings, a sentence that need not be typed in 2016 lexicon

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Jay Bruce was good early, though the Cincinnati Reds didn't actually lose until about nine hours after he was effective.  Bruce doubled, drove in a few runs, and did a decent job of making the Cincinnati Reds look like they knew how to play baseball before several hours, endless pitching changes, extra innings and an after-midnight finish became the storyline.

Honorable Mentions are due to:  Ivan De Jesus, Jr., who singled and drove in 3 runs; Brandon Phillips, who had a 3 hit night and scored twice; Joey Votto, who singled twice, walked twice, stole a bag, drove in a late run, & scored; JC Ramirez, who fanned an impressive six Braves in his 2 IP; and you, for caring enough about a Reds/Braves game to click on this in the first place.

Key Plays

• Atlanta plated a run early in this one, and it began as Mallex Smith reached on a leadoff single in the Bottom of the 1st after BP's throw to 1B after a rangy play up the middle was a step late.  Ender Inciarte then doubled to right-center, and Smith motored home.  Reds trailed, 1-0.
• The Braves dinked and doinked their way to some additional offense in the Bottom of the 3rd, and the Cincinnati defense didn't exactly do Disco any favor.  A double, single, and walk loaded the bases with 1-out, and Disco then got a grounder off the bat of Jace Peterson that went straight to Votto at 1B.  Votto opted to come home - which he had plenty of time to do - but he threw off balance, and the errant throw pulled Ramon Cabrera off home and allowed Freddie Freeman to score on the error.  Disco then struck out Tyler Flowers, but Erick Aybar then poked a 2-run double just under a diving Duvall in left-center that busted the game open.  Disco then walked a guy he thought he'd struck out, and the error-fueled rising pitch count sent him to an early shower.  Fortunately, AJ Morris got the final out, but the Reds trailed, 4-0.
• Votto took a leadoff walk to begin the Top of the 4th, and he scored two batters later after a BP single and a double to left-center by Bruce.  Adam Duvall then lifted a sac fly deep enough into RF to bring in Phillips and allow Bruce to move to 3B on the throw home, and that proved large when De Jesus, Jr. cracked a productive groundout to the SS that brought Bruce home.  Reds trailed, 4-3.
• Morris walked Peterson to leadoff, but then left due to injury after having obvious discomfort in his right (throwing) shoulder.  Dang.  Josh Smith took over, but Peterson promptly stole 2B and later scored on a single to CF from Aybar.  Reds trailed, 5-3.
• The Cincinnati offense kicked into gear again in the Top of the 6th after Bud Norris exited.  Phillips reached 2B on a throwing error at 3B by Adonis Garcia after Garcia stopped what would've probably been a double anyway.  BP scored when Bruce flipped an oppo single into LF, and after Bruce motored to 3B on a double off the top of the wall in right-center off the bat of Duvall, both runners scored on a single to CF by De Jesus, Jr.  Reds led, 6-5!
• Freddie Freeman is good at baseball, lest we forget in this awful, half-baked Atlanta Braves season.  He poked an opposite field dinger in the Bottom of the 6th that just cleared the wall in LF.  Game tied, 6-6.
• Extra innings eventually ensued, at which point the Reds and Tony Cingrani eventually allowed Atlanta to load the bases with nobody out in the Bottom of the 11th.  Thanks to a deft play by Tucker Barnhart and a bit of luck, the Reds escaped without allowing a run.  Because of course you wanted a 2016 Braves/Reds game to go into a 12th inning.
• (Yaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnssssssssssssss.)
• The Reds finally scraped across a run in the Top of the 13th...yes, 13th...and it came when Jose Peraza battled for a walk with the bases loaded after the Braves opted to walk Barnhart in front of him to set up force-outs at every base.  Thanks, Barves!  Votto then singled in another run, and that put the Reds in front 8-6 (despite Tucker being out at home on the throw by a fathom).
• Oh, right.  Alfredo Simon was pitching for the Reds in whatever the eff extra inning it was.  The Braves tied the game.  Then, the Braves won the game.  Reds lost, 9-8.

Tony Graphanino

Source: FanGraphs

Other Notes

• Someone, anyone please give Alfredo Simon a coke and a smile and tell him to stop pitching forever for good.
• Disco's final line:  2.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 2 K on 76 pitches.  The pair of outs and pile of baserunners of record in the Bottom of the 3rd took 42 pitches alone.
• It was Raisel Iglesias' turn to make a rehab start on the farm tonight, and the talented righty looked good for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.  His final line:  2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K on 25 pitches.  That'll do, Ig.
• Speaking of shoulder issues, if Morris heads to the DL because of his shoulder issue (which I hope doesn't happen), I'd guess the team will go ahead and make the Saturday starting pitcher decision and bring that player up.  Either that, or they'll be running the last-minute shuttle to Houston for a single game, and the Reds haven't historically been that kind of team.
• Votto's walk in the Top of the 1st stretched his streak of being on-base to 16 games.  His season OBP now sits at .367.
• Freddie Freeman hit for the cycle.  You were probably not watching and/or already asleep at that point.  I don't blame you.
• Dan Straily will take the bump tomorrow at 12:10 PM ET tomorrow in the series finale, and he'll be opposed by "Wisler," who I'm not going to look up at this hour.
• Tunes, because of course.