Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds Series Recap

There are not many good things to say about this series, as the Reds utilized the long ball to sweep the Braves. With that said, here are some notes from the series

The tale of two Mike's. In game one, Mike Minor faced off against Mike Leake. Minor allowed four solo home runs, while Leake pitched dominant innings. Both pitchers entered the game struggling, but only one had their struggles continue. The Braves badly need Minor to get back on track.

Drew Stubbs had only five hits during the series, but he made them count. Three of his hits went for home runs, including two in game two of the series.

Michael Bourn hit three home runs during the four-game series. He came into the series with 14 CAREER home runs. That's just crazy.

Zack Cozart entered the series hitting .232/.288/.384. He leaves it hitting .251/.302/.425. Cozart had a big series, going 7-14 at the plate with two home runs.

Strangely enough with how potent the Reds offense was, the Braves were able to keep Joey Votto in check. He went 3-13, but did walk three times as well.

Tommy Hanson pitched very well in game three, allowing only four hits and one run while striking out five in six innings of work. Unfortunately, the offense couldn't back him up.

All in all, the series featured 16 home runs in four games. SIx by the Braves, and ten from the Reds. Safe to say that homers ruled the series.

Two of those home runs were more significant than the rest. The first was Todd Frazier's walk-off in game three against Cristhian Martinez with Craig Kimbrel sitting in the bullpen. The second was Devin Mesoraco's grand-slam in the series finale that really sealed things for the Reds.

The Braves offense clearly suffered without Chipper Jones (besides a pinch-hit appearance) and Brian McCann for all four games. Hopefully, both of those guys are back in the lineup sooner than later.