A vicious crash into a foul territory wall by Reds left fielder Tyler Callihan that was the foremost concern.
With a runner on first in the third inning, Atlanta’s Matt Olson lofted a fly ball down the left field line.
Callihan, called up from Triple-A just a week ago, made a long run and caught the ball while sliding. He was still at full-speed when he met the wall.
While he was on the ground, the ball trickled out of his glove.
While he lay writhing on the field in severe distress, clutching his right arm, both runners circled the bases, an inside the park home run for Olson.
Callihan suffered two broken bones in his forearm and will require surgery.
And the call was correct. The rule is that after making a catch, the player must remove the ball from his glove on his own. The fact that the full-speed collision with the wall dislodged the ball didn’t matter.
The Braves scored all four runs in that third inning off Reds starter Brady Singer, the two runs on Olson’s homer pushed the scored from 2-0 to 4-0. Olson has hit 10 homers in his last 13 games against the Reds, even if this one was dubious.
“I came up to the clubhouse right after and he (Callihan) was not in a good place,” said subdued manager Tito Francona.
“There is no good way to explain. I mean the kid is running full blast, trying to do everything he can to save runs. I asked TJ (Friedl), because he was the first one there and he said it was so bad when he got there that he knew.”
The Reds, helpless to help Callihan, were helpless against Atlanta starter AJ Smith-Shawver, making his 11th major league start.
The Reds didn’t have a hit until Santiago Espinal cracked a solid single leading off the eighth inning. And that was it.
Smith-Shawver, a 22-year-old right-handed Texan, walked two in the first inning, then struck out Spencer Steer to escape damage.
He also walked two in the fourth inning with two outs, then coaxed a week pop-up from Jake Fraley.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
He then retired the next 10 until Santiago’s single. It was the 12th time this season the Reds have been held to five or fewer hits.
“Early on, he was just dominant with his velocity,” said Francona with his assessment of Smith-Shawver. “Then he threw in that splitter and a breaking ball. He had everything working tonight.”
Asked if the Callihan crash put a damper on the Reds the rest of the way, Francona said, “So many things happened on that play. We’re down, 2-0, and all of a sudden it’s 4-0.
“And the kid is out there rolling around and we can’t see it from where we are, but looking at TJ’s reaction, we know it’s not good.
“And, yeah, you’re human and it’s hard not to... I mean, you gotta care because he is such a good kid. You feel terrible for him.”
Francona put up no fuss about it being ruled a no-catch after the play was sent to New York for review.
“The way I understand it was that he caught it, but he couldn’t present it,” said Francona. “It rolled out of his glove and that’s why they kept the play alive. I get it. It’s just disappointing. I get it, though.”
Other than the four-run third, Singer was sharp. And he was unconcerned about taking his second loss after winning his first four decisions.
“I saw it and it was not much fun to see,” said Singer of the Callihan play. “He just wanted to make that play and it speaks volumes about him. I appreciate his effort.”
And did it overshadow losing the game?
“Yeah, that’s for sure. That overshadows it,” he said.
Singer retired seven of the first eight, a walk the only Braves base runner until one out in the third.
Number nine hitter Nick Allen singled with one out in the third. Alex Verdugo doubled him home and scored on Austin Riley’s single to make it 2-0.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Then came the Callihan catastrophe.
“It was definitely a grind for me,” said Singer. “I wish I could have that third inning back. There were numerous reasons. I didn’t put away guys. I fell behind on some guys and made some bad pitches.
“I put some pitches late in the count over the plate and they did damage to them. I tried to get them to chase and when I did I didn’t make good pitches,” he added.
For the Reds, it was their fifth loss in seven games and in four of those defeats they scored 0, 1, 1 and 0 runs.
After an 0-and-7 start, the Braves are 16-11 and the two teams meet three times in the next three days.
NEXT GAME
What: Cincinnati at Atlanta
When: Tuesday, May 6, 7:15 p.m.
TV: FanDuel Sports
Radio: 1410-AM
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