The Reds got a lift from the kids Thursday night, and it was enough to outlast the Braves in a 7-6 win at home.
Carlos Jorge and Héctor Rodríguez each left the yard, giving Cincinnati the kind of jolt it has been searching for in a season that has offered too few of them. The victory pushed the Reds to 74-85 and wrapped up a series win over Atlanta, a postseason-bound club, at a time when the team has been dealing with plenty of negative headlines.
Jorge set the tone immediately. He opened the game with the first home run of his major league career, jumping on the Braves right away in the first inning. It was Cincinnati’s second straight game with a leadoff homer after Juan Brito did the same against Chris Sale on Wednesday, and it put the Reds in a spot no team in MLB history had reached before: back-to-back leadoff homers from different rookies.
The rookie damage didn’t stop there. Rodríguez delivered the big swing in the sixth inning, driving a two-run homer above the Chop House to put Cincinnati ahead 7-6. With Jorge, Brito and Rodríguez all going deep in the series, the Reds had a young core flashing real pop, even if the season itself has long since drifted toward the finish line.
Brady Singer, though, couldn’t hold up his end. After being given a 1-0 lead, he was tagged for five hits and four runs in the first inning alone. His September has gone sideways, and Thursday only deepened the concern: he has now given up 29 runs over his last 17 2/3 innings.
The trouble came from the start. Singer left too many pitches over the middle, especially early, and Atlanta’s lineup made him pay.
Cincinnati briefly fought back and moved in front 5-4 in the third, but Singer handed the momentum right back when Austin Riley launched a solo homer to tie the game and erase the Reds’ advantage.
Singer’s night was over after three innings. He allowed seven hits and five runs while walking two, and he has now failed to get through six innings in each of his last five starts.
The Reds finish the season with a trip to Toronto, where they’ll face the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in their final series of 2026. Friday’s game is set for 7:07 p.m. E.T., with Nick Lodolo (3-6, 5.04 ERA) scheduled to oppose Jose Soriano (12-8, 3.72 ERA).
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The larger point from the statement was clear enough: baseball people will make baseball decisions, and the front office wants that line to be understood. But for a fan base worn down by modest postseason returns and underwhelming development rankings, the announcement mostly confirmed the same thing it was meant to answer, leaving the real test where it has been for a while now, on whether the organization can turn that structure into better outcomes. [Read more 🡒]