Atlanta heads to Cincinnati and then Bristol for a three-game series.
You know the drill by now, the Atlanta Braves are having a forgettable season.
But, after dropping a three-game set to the Kansas City Royals after being swept by the Texas Rangers, they head east to finish their road tip and take on the Cincinnati Reds for two games in Cincinnati and then Saturday’s unique showcase game of the regular season – the MLB Speedway Classic at the racetrack in Bristol, TN.
Saturday’s game has already sold an MLB-record number of tickets – in excess of 85,000 – at the same venue with picturesque views that hosted almost 157,00 for a college football game between the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech in 2016.
The game at Bristol Motor Speedway looked like a match-up between two teams with post-season aspirations earlier this season, but now only the Reds – who are sitting a few games back for both the National League Central lead and the last NL Wild Card spot – are in the position to dream on October baseball.
Thursday, newly acquired pitcher Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco is slated to make his Braves debut and Saturday night Spencer Strider will be on the mound in infield in the infield of the legendary short-track.
With the trade deadline ending prior to Thursday night’s game, this series against the Reds won’t have the intrigue of who’s staying and who’s going, but there’s no doubt that the game on Saturday is a must-watch for Braves fans, even with the team struggling on the field.
Notably, Atlanta will have an almost unheard of Sunday off-day before starting their first home stand of August against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Here are the start times for each of the upcoming games against the Reds.
- Thursday, July 31- 7:10 PM EDT
- Friday, August 1 – 12:40 PM EDT
- Saturday, August 2 – 7:15 PM EDT
Broadcast options for these games include:
- Thursday: FanDuel Sports Network South, FanDuel Sports Network Southeast, MLB Network (out-of-market)
- Friday: FanDuel Sports Network South, FanDuel Sports Network Southeast, MLB Network (out-of-market)
- Saturday: FOX
The Braves games can be heard on the Braves Radio Network. Games are also available to stream on MLB.tv (blackout restrictions apply) and the FanDuel Sports Network (restrictions apply).