mymotherlode
ATLANTA (AP) — Elly De La Cruz launched his 30th home run of the season, and Héctor Rodríguez and rookie Carlos Jorge also went deep as the Cincinnati Reds erased an early deficit to beat the NL East champion Atlanta Braves 7-6 on Thursday night.
With the defeat, Atlanta locked up the No. 3 seed in the National League playoffs, trailing only Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves (93-66) will host a best-of-three Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday.
Rodríguez's two-run homer in the sixth inning off AJ Smith-Shawver (0-3) gave Cincinnati a 7-6 lead. De La Cruz had extended his career high with a solo shot to right field in the third, and he now needs one stolen base to become the fourth player in Reds history to record a 30/30 season. Jorge opened the game with his first career home run.
Connor Phillips (2-0), the third of six Cincinnati pitchers, recorded four outs. Emilio Pagán worked the ninth for his 25th save.
Atlanta jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but Cincinnati quickly answered against Tyler Mahle. The right-hander allowed five runs over five innings in his final start before the playoffs. It was his worst outing since joining the Braves from San Francisco at the trade deadline; he had surrendered two runs or fewer in each of his previous eight starts with Atlanta.
Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. returned after missing one game with a bone bruise on his shin, racing around at full speed to score from first on a double in the first inning. He finished 2 for 5 with a stolen base.
Reds starter Brady Singer lasted three innings, giving up five runs on seven hits. Austin Riley homered against him in the third.
Up next: The Reds conclude the season with a three-game series at Toronto. LHP Nick Lodolo (3-6, 5.04 ERA) will oppose Blue Jays RHP José Soriano (12-8, 3.72) on Friday. The Braves have not announced a starter for Friday's series opener at Miami. RHP Eury Pérez (7-11, 4.14) starts for the Marlins.
_ See AP's full MLB coverage here. By BILL TROCCHI, Associated Press.
Originally reported by mymotherlode.