Major League Baseball
Atlanta 6, Cincinnati 5
When: 4:10 PM ET, Saturday, June 3, 2017
Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
Temperature: 87°
Umpires: Home - Mark Wegner, 1B - Mike Muchlinski, 2B - Marty Foster, 3B - Mike Winters
Attendance: 26485

CINCINNATI -- During his five seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Matt Adams enjoyed considerable success against Cincinnati Reds pitching, especially in Great American Ball Park.

That continued to be the case on Saturday with the Atlanta Braves.

Adams hit a go-ahead solo home run in the 12th inning and his first career grand slam in the fifth, lifting the Braves to a 6-5 victory over the Reds.

It was Adams' eighth and ninth career home runs at Great American Ball Park, giving him 13 home runs and 35 RBIs in his career against Cincinnati pitching.

"I see the ball well in this park," Adams said. "That helps with the confidence. I was just trying to put the barrel on some balls."

Adams' slam off Scott Feldman highlighted a five-run fifth inning for the Braves (23-30) before the Reds rallied to tie score with a four-run sixth.

In the 12th inning, Adams crushed a 2-1 pitch from Blake Wood (0-4) to the opposite field for his first multi-homer game since June 23, 2014, at Colorado.

"He had a big day today, and we needed it," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "You need every run you can get in this ballpark. No lead is safe."

Jim Johnson (3-1) allowed one hit with a walk and two strikeouts over two innings to earn the victory.

Jose Peraza homered for Cincinnati (25-29), which saw center fielder Billy Hamilton and right fielder Scott Schebler both exit the game with strained left shoulders.

Schebler was injured making a diving catch of Nick Markakis' line drive in the sixth. It was not immediately certain when Hamilton's injury occurred.

"Right now, it doesn't look like it's serious enough to suggest the DL," Reds manager Bryan Price said of the injuries. "but we'll learn a lot overnight."

Solid bullpen work by both teams kept the score tied.

Cincinnati had the winning run in scoring position with less than two outs in the ninth, 10th, and 11th innings but failed to score.

"You get guys in scoring position, you want to come up with a hit to win the game," Price said. "Atlanta made some plays and made some pitches."

The Reds' bullpen retired 11 straight batters in one stretch and 17 of 19 heading into the 12th.

The Braves led 5-2 in the sixth when Jason Motte issued a bases-loaded walk and Joey Votto delivered a two-run single to tie the score 5-5. The Reds appeared to catch a break in that inning when replay confirmed the call on the field that Brandon Phillips' foot was not on the bag to complete a force play at second base for the second out.

"He was all over the base," Snitker said. "I don't get it. That's what the system is designed to do."

Braves starter R.A. Dickey remained winless in his past six starts after giving up five earned runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings on Saturday. He's 0-2 in those stretch with a 6.39 ERA. Dickey walked five on Saturday.

"I've never walked this many guys in my life," Dickey said. "I've been a little too careful in some situations."

Feldman didn't have his best command early on, but a pair of inning-ending double plays and Hamilton's catch of Kurt Suzuki's drive up against the wall in center helped him keep the game scoreless through three innings.

Atlanta loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, but Dickey lined softly to second base to end the inning.

Cincinnati didn't get many good swings against Dickey's knuckleball. Even Votto's double to left in the third was a bloop down the line.

That was before Peraza launched a 62-mile per hour hanger into the left field seats to put the Reds in front 1-0 in the fourth. It was Peraza's second home run this season and the 12th allowed by Dickey this season.

After escaping jams in the first four innings, Feldman wasn't so fortunate in the fifth.

A throwing error by Suarez on what would've been the second out helped spark the big fifth inning. The Braves loaded the bases soon after and Adams crushed Feldman's 2-1 pitch up against the Batter's Eye Pavilion in center, putting Atlanta ahead 4-1.

The Braves overcame the Reds' rally to avoid a fourth straight loss.

"They're all probably fighting to get back in that ice tub," Snitker said. "It was a hot day and a tough game. They put everything they had into that one."

NOTES: Rookie LHP Amir Garrett is expected to start for the Reds on Sunday. He's been on the disabled list since May 25 with right hip inflammation. ... Braves 3B Adonis Garcia started for the second straight game since being reinstated from the DL on Friday and went 4-for-6 with a double. ... Reds LHP Brandon Finnegan will throw two innings on Tuesday in Arizona. He could begin a rehab assignment by June 10. ... Prior to Friday night's win, the Reds had lost 225 consecutive games in which they trailed by one or more runs in the ninth inning or later, longest active streak in majors.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Atlanta   Cincinnati
R.A. Dickey Player Scott Feldman
No Decision W/L No Decision
5.1 IP 4.1
2 Strikeouts 1
5 Hits 7
6.75 ERA 8.31
Hitting
Atlanta   Cincinnati
Adonis Garcia Player Joey Votto
4 Hits 2
0 RBI 2
0 HR 0
5 TB 3
.667 Avg .400
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Atlanta 12 2 19 .267 19 4 6 4 2 1
Cincinnati 8 1 13 .182 29 11 5 10 2 1