Braves hang on to beat Reds in MLB Speedway Classic at Bristol

Matt McLain came within inches of tying Sunday’s Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway in the bottom of the ninth inning, blasting a ball deep to right field.

But a fortunate bounce for Eli White and the Atlanta Braves kept the ball in the park and Atlanta’s lead at 4-2, leading to Raisel Iglesias closing out the game and giving the Braves the win over the Cincinnati Reds in the first MLB game ever held in the state of Tennessee. 

“I’m just happy it stayed in the yard,” White told Fox Sports. 

It was ironic that White inadvertently saved the game defensively, as it was White who hit two homers and knocked in all four of Atlanta’s runs. 

If not White, Atlanta pitcher Hurston Waldrep would also be an acceptable pick for the game’s MVP. Waldrep earned his first career win by throwing 5.2 innings of one-run, three-hit baseball, striking out four batters in the process. 

Braves third baseman Austin Riley was injured  during the game after tagging out Elly De La Cruz in the bottom of the first inning. 

For Cincinnati, McLain and Austin Hays knocked in a run each, and Brent Suter was tagged with the loss after giving up three runs in 2.2 innings of work. 

The game was originally supposed to be played on Saturday, but was suspended in the first inning because of rain.

Cincinnati will travel to Chicago on Monday for a huge series with the Cubs, while Atlanta will return home to face the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers. 

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker