Braves can’t finish sweep of Reds, go 4-2 on road trip

CINCINNATI — The Braves missed their chance at a sweep Sunday by losing to the Reds 6-4 at Great American Ballpark but will still return home with a 4-2 record on their road trip and as the first team in franchise history to win 40 games before June.

Atlanta (40-20) had the lead in the first Sunday before falling behind in the third and failing to draw even after that. Still, the team returns to Atlanta, where they will get to enjoy having the best record in the majors along with an off-day Monday before facing the Blue Jays in a three-game series starting Tuesday at Truist Park.

Braves right-hander Spencer Strider, making his sixth start of the season, made it through five innings. Three of the four runs he allowed were earned, and he struck out nine while throwing 90 pitches (58 for strikes).

“Limiting runs is the name of the game. Didn’t do it,” Strider said. “Doesn’t really matter how it happened. Didn’t get the job done. Felt like I was capable of pitching better, and didn’t. “So, you know, got to be better.

“All the hits I gave up, besides a couple of ‘em, I didn’t think they were executed pitches. Didn’t get the fastball into lefties. Just gave too many guys a chance. Nothing prevented me from pitching better than I did today.”

Strider has given up at least three earned runs in each of his last three starts. The seven hits he surrendered Sunday were a season high, and he couldn’t take advantage of having an early lead.

Ronald Acuña Jr. continued to tear the cover off the ball Sunday when he took the first pitch of the game from Reds starter Nick Lodolo and crushed it 438 feet out to left center. It was the 39th career leadoff homer for Acuña and his fifth in four games.

The Reds countered in the first against Strider (3-1) with an RBI double to right off the bat of JJ Bleday. It was Bleday again in the third who banged yet another RBI double into the corner in right, giving the Reds a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth, Will Benson lined a deep fly ball over the glove of a leaping Acuña in right field. When Acuña had trouble collecting the ball after it had bounced off the wall, Spencer Steer scored from first and Acuña was charged with an error.

Jorge Mateo knocked his fourth home run of the season by connecting for a solo shot to left field in the fifth. It was Mateo’s first time hitting homers in back-to-back games since April 2-3, 2023, when he was playing for the Orioles.

But two singles in the bottom half of the inning put runners at the corners with one out for the Reds (30-28). Eugenio Suárez lifted an RBI sacrifice fly to right field, giving the Reds their two-run lead back.

“I think command is everything. Executing pitches is everything,” Strider said. “The more you throw the ball in the areas you want to throw each specific pitch, the better chance you have of avoiding hits and avoiding bad outcomes.

“I’m still gonna give up hits, that happens sometimes. But those are the ones you don’t feel bad about. That’s gonna happen. Every pitcher is gonna make mistakes every outing. The idea is that you make enough good pitches that it kind of cancels those ones out. (Today) I didn’t do that.”

The Braves loaded the bases with one out in the sixth and got an RBI sacrifice fly to deep center off the bat of Austin Riley to creep within 4-3. Reds catcher P.J. Higgins provided the Reds’ response in the bottom half with an RBI double to right — over the outstretched glove of Acuña again — off Braves reliever Didier Fuentes.

Suárez hit a two-out solo home run to right field off Braves reliever Dylan Dodd in the seventh, giving the Reds some insurance.

The Braves did have the go-ahead run at the plate in the form of Michael Harris II after Acuña’s RBI single cut it to 6-4. Left-handed reliever Sam Moll came in and walked Harris, leaving it up to Matt Olson, who grounded out to third on the first pitch he saw. Moll earned his first save.

“We fought back, had a chance. The way things have gone, I’m thinking we’re winning that game in the ninth inning,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “Looked like it was lining up for us to win that one, but another series win, and that’s bottom line. Try to keep stacking up series wins.”