Bauer shaky in his debut with Reds

Braves 5, Reds 4, 10 innings

ATLANTA – It wasn’t the dream debut for Trevor Bauer in his first start wearing a Cincinnati Reds uniform.

The first inning was a good example. He surrendered a single, walked a batter and hit a batter to load the bases. Then he stranded the runners on a strikeout with his slider.

Bauer labored through 4 innings, allowing three runs. There were no easy innings. The Reds lost 5-4 in 10 innings on Saturday night when Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a walk-off single in front of the crowd of 42,085 at Suntrust Field.

Aristides Aquino took Bauer off the hook with a three-run homer in the seventh inning.

The Braves pulled ahead in the eighth without swinging the bat. Amir Garrett and Michael Lorenzen combined to walk four batters, including Lorenzen’s walk to Acuna with the bases loaded.

In the ninth inning, the Reds rallied for a run against closer Shane Greene, who was making his Braves debut after he was traded from the Detroit Tigers. Following back-toback singles by Jose Iglesias and Jesse Winker, Tucker Barnhart hit a bloop single into left field. Iglesias scored on Barnhart’s hit and Winker was thrown out at the plate by several steps after being waved home by third-base coach J.R. House.

Reds reliever Jared Hughes (3-4) walked two batters in the 10th inning before Acuna drilled a twoout single down the third-base line. It was Acuna’s first career walk-off hit.

Bauer, who the Reds acquired in a trade from the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night, allowed seven hits and three walks. He hit a batter and a run scored on a wild pitch. He threw 107 pitches. The Braves fouled 26 pitches. Bauer averaged 4.5 pitches per plate appearance.

It was the third time this season that Bauer failed to pitch at least five innings. He allowed a careerhigh eight runs (seven earned) in 4 innings in his final start with the Indians last weekend.

Luke Jackson (6-2) pitched an inning and picked up the victory.