Great place to be
Adams’ homers lift Braves in Cincinnati
CINCINNATI — Matt Adams feels comfortable at Great American Ball Park, and it showed again in one of those games that just wouldn’t end.
Adams hit his first career grand slam and connected again for a solo home run in the 12th inning Saturday, powering the Atlanta Braves to a 6-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in a matchup that lasted 4 hours and 20 minutes while crossing from afternoon into evening.
Adams’ one-out homer off Blake Wood (0-4) saved the Braves after they blew a lead for the second day in a row. It was Adams’ fourth career multi-homer game, though his first since 2014. He now has nine career homers at Great American, his most at any road park.
“It’s just a park where I see the ball good,” Adams said, “and that definitely helps with the confidence.”
Jim Johnson (3-1) escaped a threat in the 11th and finished it off for the win, a day after he blew a lead in the ninth. The Reds rallied for a 3-2 lead in 10 innings on Friday night.
The Braves, who ended their losing streak after three games, won for only the second time in seven extra-inning games this season.
Both teams had chances throughout — the Braves stranded 10 runners, the Reds 15.
“You get guys in scoring position,” Reds manager Bryan Price said, “you want to come up with a hit to win the game.”
Adams hit his grand slam off Scott Feldman in the fifth inning. He has four home runs since he was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals on May 20. Eight of his 13 hits with Atlanta have gone for extra bases.
The Braves sent 10 batters to the plate for five runs in the fifth, putting R.A. Dickey in line for his first victory in a month. But then the Reds sent nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the inning to tie it, 5-5.
Jason Motte came on with the bases loaded, walked in a run and gave up Joey Votto’s tying tworun single.
Dickey is 0-2 in his past six starts with a 6.31 ERA. His last victory came May 2 over the Mets, one of his former teams. The knuckleball pitcher’s biggest problem: 21 walks in those six starts.
“I’m somewhat embarrassed by the way I’ve been throwing this year,” Dickey said. “I’m a guy that’s traditionally a slow starter, but I’ve never walked this many guys in my life.”
Atlanta second baseman Brandon Phillips went 2-for-4 and was hit on the left hand by a pitch from Feldman. He’s 2-for-9 with three strikeouts in his first series in Cincinnati since the Reds traded him in February.
Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki was hit on the left thigh by a foul ball in the second inning, on the left hip by a pitch from Feldman in the fourth and on the upper left arm by a pitch from Austin Brice in the fifth. He still caught all 12 innings.