Reds-Braves Game 2 Preview

The Cincinnati Reds saw a three-game winning streak snapped and are 5-3 as a 10-game road trip nears its end, falling to the Atlanta Braves in the opener of a three game series last night 5-4.

Cincinnati catcher Devin Mesoraco, batting .468, strained his left hamstring in the seventh and was removed from the game, as was third baseman Todd Frazier in the fifth with tightness in his left leg. The fear is Mesoraco could be headed back to the disabled list after beginning the season there with a strained oblique, and it’s so unfortunate, because Mesoraco was finally putting all of his potential in display.

“The severity is it could be significant or it could be something that’s a couple or three days,” manager Bryan Price said. “We’ll see. I think we’ll have more news for you tomorrow.”

After consecutive victories, Leake (2-1, 3.49) settled for a no-decision in Monday’s 6-5 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates after allowing four runs and eight hits in seven innings. All the damage came on an Ike Davis grand slam, and Leake thought even that pitch, which broke Davis’ bat, wasn’t a poor one.

“I thought I pitched pretty well, even the pitch I got hurt on with Ike was a good pitch,” Leake said.

Leake allowed identical numbers in his only start against the Braves last season and owns a 2-1 record and 2.33 ERA in his career against them.

Atlanta second baseman Dan Uggla is 4 for 10 with three home runs off Leake while first baseman Freddie Freeman is hitless in eight at-bats.

Freeman went 3 for 4 on Friday to break out of an 0-for-12 stretch in his previous three. He’s batting .393 with eight RBIs in seven games against the Reds since the start of 2013.

Reds right fielder Jay Bruce is batting .400 during an eight-game hitting streak at Turner Field.

The Reds have gone five games in a row without a home run. It’s been 344 games, including the postseason, since they last went six straight from April 9-14, 2012.

Leake opposes Braves right-hander David Hale, who has shined and faltered as part of a patchwork Atlanta rotation that has taken the Majors by storm. His impressive 2.93 ERA ranks last among Braves starters.

First pitch is at 7:10pm, TV: FSN OHIO, RADIO: 700 WLW.