BRISTOL, Tenn. — After Saturday’s Speedway Classic was suspended by rain in the bottom of the first inning, the Reds were forced to pivot and improvise, and could have their pitching situation affected for days to come at a critical point of their season.
Ahead of Sunday’s resumption of play at Bristol Motor Speedway, Cincinnati optioned outfielder Will Benson to Triple-A Louisville and recalled reliever Lyon Richardson to be their 27th man for the active roster.
Because starting pitcher Chase Burns threw 18 pitches during a scoreless top of the first inning on Saturday, the rookie was unavailable to continue on Sunday. Manager Terry Francona tapped lefty reliever Brent Suter to take over for the second inning as the Reds go with a bullpen day.
“Losing the innings of Burns last night really is kind of a dilemma for us,” Francona said. “I was trying to explain to them that nobody can control the weather, but you go from trying to win the game to all of a sudden, ‘how do we finish the game?’ That’s a difficult spot to be in, but I think they understood that.”
Not only did both teams lose Sunday’s off-day and have to adjust, the Reds will be heading to Chicago for a three-game series vs. the Cubs that starts on Monday. But as a team fighting for a playoff spot and playing against a division rival, they could have a tired bullpen working behind Monday’s scheduled starter Nick Lodolo.
“We lost that day off for our bullpen. That’s the big, big one,” Francona said. “Now, we have basically a bullpen day. That’s difficult. We’ll have to see how we get through it.”
It wasn’t an easy night after steady rain forced a 2 hour and 17 minute rain delay before an attempt was made to get the game in on Saturday. But after four outs were completed, more showers made it impossible to resume until Sunday.
“I don’t think anybody was terribly thrilled,” Francona said. “It’s a huge event. They’re thinking about things. We’re thinking. Everybody has got their own area that you worry about. Hopefully, you try to be respectful, there are other areas. Ultimately, what we’re here for is trying to win a game. I just wanted to make sure no one lost sight of that.”
