It’s fitting for a few reasons that the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds will play in the first Speedway Classic Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Major League Baseball has announced 85,000 tickets have been sold for the game at the famed NASCAR half-mile oval track. That would break a more than 70-year-old record for the biggest crowd at an MLB contest.
“There’s going to be a lot of people there,” Braves pitcher Grant Holmes told MLB.com about the track known for its tight races. “It’ll be pretty loud. Those NASCAR fans get pretty rowdy.”
Those fans likely will not see both teams score eight runs each in the eighth inning, as Reds and Braves did on Thursday. But a close game is possible.
The Braves have claimed four of the first six meetings this season. However, the last five have been one-run affairs, including the Reds’ 3-2 win on Friday. Three of those needed extra innings.
Cincinnati has had its share of close games this season. The Reds have 26 comeback victories, tied for ninth in the majors. However, opponents have rallied past them 24 times, including Thursday’s 12-11 loss in 10 innings to Atlanta.
The Reds also have five ninth-inning blown leads, the most in the majors.
As Will Benson noted on the team’s postgame show Friday, “it ain’t a Reds game if it ain’t interesting, right?”
Benson went 2-for-3 on Friday. He scored twice and belted a two-run homer. Prior to this past week, playing time had become scarce for the platooning outfielder, who has appeared in 61 games. However, Benson has started in each of the last five, going 6-for-18 and driving in five runs.
A pair of hard-throwing right-handed pitchers who also have in-state connections will start Saturday.
Reds rookie Chase Burns (0-3, 6.26 ERA) attended high school near Nashville and played in college for the Tennessee Volunteers before transferring to Wake Forest. He still seeks his first MLB win, but he’s struck out 10 in each of his last three starts.
Spencer Strider (5-8, 3.71), who attended high school in Knoxville, continues to rebound after missing most of last season due to elbow surgery. A 20-game winner in 2023, Strider has battled control issues. He’s walked 11 batters in 22 2/3 innings, but he’s 2-1 over that stretch with 29 strikeouts in those four starts.
Strider last faced the Reds in April 2023, a 5-4 Braves victory. He’s 1-0 with a 2.27 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 13 innings over three appearances (two starts). Burns encounters Atlanta for the first time.
Atlanta’s Michael Harris II hopes his strong July will carry into August. The center fielder hit .301 (28-for-93) in 24 games to lift his season average by more than 20 points to .233. He went 2-for-4 Friday and now stands at .236.
The Braves entered 2025 having reached the playoffs in seven straight seasons. However, with a 46-63 record, Atlanta is on pace for its first losing season since 2017.
Pregame festivities will include concerts and appearances by several NASCAR drivers. Despite all that, Reds manager Terry Francona knows the game will be important for his team as they chase the San Diego Padres for the final National League wild-card spot. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the team turned down some requests, including putting microphones on players for the nationally televised game.
“You don’t want to be the Grinch, but it’s also not an exhibition,” he said.
Atlanta and Cincinnati are roughly five-hour drives from Bristol, which is considered part of both team’s MLB broadcast markets.
-Field Level Media
