On Monday night it was Nick Martinez’s world and we were all just living in it. The right-hander dominated Atlanta for seven shutout innings as the Cincinnati Reds held on for a 1-0 win over the Braves in a 1-game stop in Georgia to make up a postponed game from July.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (70-75) |
1 | 8 | 0 |
| Atlanta Braves (78-66) | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| W: Martinez (8-6) L: Morton (8-8) SV: Diaz (27) |
|||
| Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Cincinnati went down in order in the 1st inning. The Reds got some help from Charlie Morton to avoid that happening in the 2nd. Morton hit TJ Friedl to lead off the inning and then Ty France came through with a double into right field that scored Friedl to put the visiting club up 1-0.
That’s where the score remained as Nick Martinez was rolling and was in control against Atlanta’s offense. Charlie Morton settled in for a bit after the 2nd, but the Reds were threatening again in the 5th after back-to-back walks with two outs from Spencer Steer and Elly De La Cruz loaded the bases. But a trip to the mound worked out as Morton struck out Tyler Stephenson to strand all three runners.
Two innings later the Reds were once again threatening after 2-out singles from Noelvi Marte and Spencer Steer. That led to the Braves going to the bullpen to turn around Elly De La Cruz, but during the first pitch of the at-bat Cincinnati attempted a double steal and Marte was thrown out at third to end the inning.
Nick Martinez returned to the mound for the 7th inning and got a fly out on the first pitch he threw. Matt Olson picked up an infield hit on a soft grounder to third that saw Noelvi Marte’s throw pull Ty France off of the bag and he couldn’t make the swipe tag. That was just the second hit of the game against Martinez, but it also got the bullpen stirring for the Reds. It was no problem for Cincinnati’s starter, though, who retired the next two batters to hold onto the Reds 1-run lead.
Following seven shutout innings of 2-hit baseball, the Reds turned to the bullpen and sent Fernando Cruz out for the 8th inning. He needed just 11 pitches to pick up two strikeouts and a fly out to send the game to the 9th.
Cincinnati would put some pressure on Atlanta in the top of the inning. Jake Fraley and Santiago Espinal both picked up 1-out singles to put runners on the corners. Spencer Steer then reached on a 2-out infield hit to put a run on the board. Or at least for a second it did, but Atlanta challenged the call that Steer was safe at the bag and it was overturned to end the inning.
Alexis Diaz came into the game for the bottom of the 9th for Cincinnati and looked to hold onto a 1-0 lead. The Reds closer would do just that as he needed just 12 pitches to retire the side in order and pick up the save.
Key Moment of the Game
Writing Nick Martinez’s name on the lineup card.
Notes Worth Noting
Nick Martinez matched a season high in innings. With his seven shutout frames he lowered his ERA to 3.46 on the season.
Ty France, Jake Fraley, and Amed Rosario all had two hits on the day.
France has had five multi-hit games out of his last seven games. He’s gone 14-27 in that stretch.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals
Tuesday September 10th, 7:45pm ET
Rhett Lowder (0-1, 0.87 ERA) vs Andre Pallante (6-7, 4.07 ERA)
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