The Reds’ Joey Votto catches a ball during Friday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves in Cincinnati.
AP photo
CINCINNATI — Max Fried won his eighth straight decision, Austin Riley put Atlanta ahead to stay in the first inning with his team-high 19th home run and the Atlanta Braves routed the Cincinnati Reds 9-1 on Friday night.
Dansby Swanson added a three-run homer in the seventh for the defending World Series champion Braves, who are 22-6 since the start of June to close within 3 1/2 games of the NL East-leading New York Mets.
Fried (8-2) is 8-0 in 14 starts since losing his first two outings this season. He allowed one run and five hits in seven innings with four strikeouts and no walks.
After allowing Tommy Pham’s RBI single in the third, Fried retired 10 in a row.
Ronald Acuña Jr., the top All Star vote-getter in the National League, was back in the Braves lineup after fouling a pitch off his left foot last Saturday and missing four games. He went 2 for 3 as a designated hitter and was hit by pitches twice.
Cincinnati has lost nine straight at Great American Ball Park and is an NL-worst 26-50.
Riley hit a two-run homer in the first off Mike Minor (1-5), Riley’s first long ball since he hit two against Washington on June 15. Riley added a run-scoring single in the ninth against Jeff Hoffman.
Minor allowed two runs and six hits in six innings, his first quality start this season. Atlanta piled on seven runs off Cincinnati’s bullpen, which entered with a 5.69 ERA — nearly a run higher than any other team. Swanson homered off Joel Kuhnel.
In the eighth, Adam Duvall had an RBI double and Orlando Arcia hit a two-run single against Luis Cessa.
Trainer’s room
The Reds expect to remove LHP Nick Lodolo (back strain) from the injury list and hand him the start Tuesday against the Mets. He’s been out since late April.
Moves
Braves: Activated RHP Silvino Bracho after acquiring him from Boston for cash. … Optioned RHP Jesus Cruz to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Reds: Transferred rehab assignment of of RHP Justin Dunn from Class-A Dayton to Triple-A Louisville.
Up next
The Braves send RH Spencer Strider (3-2, 3.02 ERA) against Reds RHP Tyler Mahle (3-6, 4.53 ERA) on Saturday. Strider allowed five hits through six scoreless innings in a loss to the Dodgers last Sunday. Mahle tied his season high in going 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs and four hits in Sunday’s win at San Francisco.
Leprechauns 8, Locos 7
ROYAL OAK, Mich. — After tying the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League game with three runs in the top of ninth, Lima gave up the winning run to Royal Oak in the bottom of the inning.
Carson Garner (Murray State) had two hits and an RBI, Cade Sadler (Kennesaw State) had a hit and two RBI and Ty Gill (Purdue) had a pair of hits for the Locos.
The Locos and Leprechauns are scheduled to play at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.
Guardians rained out
CLEVELAND — As the New York Yankees watched with amusement, two imposters dressed as sluggers Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo ran into the rain-soaked outfield before performing belly slides on the infield tarp.
Once again, Cleveland was under water.
Friday night’s series opener New York and Cleveland was postponed by rain, the latest weather issue for the Guardians, who have already played five doubleheaders at home.
They’ll play their sixth at Progressive Field on Saturday as the teams will have a split doubleheader, starting at 12:10 p.m. The second game will begin at 6:10 p.m.
Cleveland also played a day-night doubleheader on Tuesday, and the Guardians are scheduled to play a doubleheader Monday in Detroit.
Friday’s game was called at 7:30 p.m. — 20 minutes after the scheduled first pitch — with thousands of fans already inside the ballpark, monitoring the local radar on the giant scoreboard in left field.
Rookie Kirk McCarty (0-1, 10.29 ERA) will start Game 1 for Cleveland against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (6-2, 2.99). McCarty made his big league debut against New York in April and gave up four runs and four hits in three innings.
Aaron Civale (2-4, 7.20), who was originally slated to start Friday for Cleveland, will start the second game against New York’s Nestor Cortes (6-3, 2.51).
Doby honored
This weekend, the Guardians are celebrating Larry Doby breaking the AL’s color barrier with Cleveland 75 years ago.
On Friday, the team unveiled a large mural outside of Progressive Field of Doby flanked by Satchel Paige and Frank Robinson. Paige was the first Black pitcher in the World Series (1948) while Robinson became baseball’s first Black manager (1975).
Doby’s story isn’t as well known as Jackie Robinson’s, but he was subjected to the same hatred as the iconic Hall of Famer.
“I’m glad that we’re celebrating his ability to be that tough and to absorb everything that I’m sure he had to, and stuff that we don’t know he had to,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “But I just want to make sure that we’re not celebrating the fact that we’re treating people equal. That should be a given.”
Interestingly, Francona’s father, Tito, was twice traded for Doby — in 1955 and ‘57.
Trainer’s room
Yankees: RHP Jonathan Loáisiga (right shoulder inflammation) will throw live batting practice in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday. He last pitched in the majors on May 22. … RHP Miguel Castro was placed on the paternity list, but is expected to rejoin the team in Pittsburgh on Monday.
Guardians: C Austin Hedges (concussion) ran the bases before the game and did other conditioning work as he nears a return. Hedges went on the IL earlier this week, a few days after taking a foul tip off his mask. … OF Oscar Gonzalez (abdominal tightness) underwent an MRI and the team is expected to provide an update.
