Rain Delays, Pitching Chaos, and Missed Opportunities: Reds Let Advantage Slip Away at Speedway Classic
The Reds, Braves, and Major League Baseball all hoped for cooperative weather Saturday night at the inaugural Speedway Classic.
That didn’t happen.
Just as the game was about to begin, a heavy downpour hit — the heaviest of the day — forcing a delay. Both starting pitchers, Spencer Strider for Atlanta and Chase Burns for Cincinnati, had already gone through their warmups.
Roughly two hours later, the rain let up and the teams prepared to resume play. The Braves opted to scratch Strider as a precaution, given his previous workload. The Reds, however, chose to stick with Burns, who tossed a dominant scoreless inning and struck out two of the three batters he faced.
Then, the rain returned.
With runners on first and second and the Reds up 1-0 after an Austin Hays RBI single, play was halted again. Thirty minutes later, MLB postponed the game until Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
The Braves went on to win 4-2 on Sunday, and some Reds players weren’t happy with how Saturday night was handled.
“It wasn’t an ideal situation,” Tyler Stephenson told The Enquirer’s Pat Brennan. “I think it could’ve been handled better. Losing starters on both sides, especially this late in the season, is tough. Our bullpen’s already been taxed.”
Gavin Lux echoed the frustration:
“Looking at the radar, it seemed like waiting another hour would’ve solved everything,” Lux said. “We didn’t need to burn Chase. Honestly, I think it was mishandled by MLB. It dimmed the spotlight on what should’ve been a really cool event. Obviously, you can’t control weather — but they could’ve done more.”
And while the frustration is understandable, there’s a case to be made that the Reds actually had the upper hand in Sunday’s continuation.
Instead of facing Spencer Strider, one of the league’s most dominant pitchers when healthy, they were matched up against Hurston Waldrep, a Triple-A call-up with a 4.42 ERA and command issues — nearly five walks per nine innings in the minors.
Waldrep revealed on the broadcast that he found out about his emergency start at 11 p.m. Saturday and was picked up around 5:30 a.m. Sunday for the drive from Gwinnett to Bristol. He likely had little sleep.
Advantage: Reds.
To make things even more favorable for Cincinnati, Waldrep began the game with two runners on base and already trailing 1-0. The Reds immediately stole second and third, but Miguel Andujar grounded into a fielder’s choice, and the inning fizzled out.
Waldrep then settled in and shut the door — tossing 5 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on three hits.
The Braves were also shorthanded. Austin Riley exited with an injury in the first inning, and Marcell Ozuna, their top slugger, wasn’t even in the lineup.
Once again: advantage Reds.
Yes, the Reds’ bullpen has been stretched thin lately. But the club has also been reluctant to shuffle arms in and out of the roster, even when a fresh arm might help more than a “deserved” roster spot.
Both teams faced challenges, but the Reds had every chance to win. In the end, they couldn’t take advantage — and there’s no one to blame for that but themselves.
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