Braves right-hander Matt Wisler was in danger of turning in his third straight lousy start on Thursday, and against the only lousy opponent he’d faced during that stretch. The Reds started off single, walk, RBI single and after a half inning the Braves were down 1-0 and Wisler had thrown 22 pitches.
The Braves couldn’t afford another Wisler meltdown. They’d played 13 innings over nearly 5 1/2 hours the night before. His teammates were tired. It was a hot afternoon. The bullpen was beat up.
“That first inning I was like, ‘Man, come on ‘Matty’, we are short’,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.