There were some high points on Tuesday. The trio atop the Cincinnati Reds lineup got on-base a combined 7 times on the day, with Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game Jake Fraley in charge of 4 of those. Spencer Steer kept mashing, while Jose Barrero woke up with a massive 2-run homer late.
The problem, of course, is that despite the solid-looking pieces that dot the roster, there’s still enough peripheral filler there to make winning games against well-oiled machines a bit difficult. Such was the case on Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves, when the Reds rolled out Luis Cessa - a reliever - as their starter and that quickly turned into a bullpen game from a team with an ill-equipped bullpen, too.