Cincinnati's lineup is driving the ball out of the park, and Joey Votto's bat might be coming back to life.
Meanwhile, Atlanta could be in more trouble against Anthony DeSclafani after a listless offensive performance in the series opener.
The Reds seek their fourth win in five games Friday night against the Braves at Turner Field.
Cincinnati (11-11) enjoyed a strong all-around showing in Thursday's 5-1 victory, getting eight scoreless innings from Mike Leake, who hit his fifth career home run. Todd Frazier and Tucker Barnhart also went deep for the second straight game and Billy Hamilton supplied a solo shot, giving the Reds 10 homers over their last three games. Their 31 this season rank second in baseball.
Votto, hitting a team-high .317, doubled twice and is 4 for 10 over his last three games after going 0 for 15 with seven strikeouts in his previous four. He also has seven doubles in his last 11 against Atlanta.
The Braves (10-12), losers of eight of 10, were held to four hits and have only four home runs in their last 11 contests.
They've never seen DeSclafani (2-1, 1.04 ERA), who has been one of the NL's toughest pitchers through the first month, though he failed to record a quality start for the first time Sunday against the Chicago Cubs. He gave up five runs over five innings in a 5-2 loss, though only one was earned as Cincinnati committed two errors behind him in the fourth inning.
Regardless of the defensive miscues, DeSclafani wasn't thrilled with his performance.
"I was missing too much over the plate," said the right-hander, who had a 16-inning scoreless streak snapped. "I didn't have a really effective slider."
Opponents are still batting just .154 against him.
With Trevor Cahill demoted to the bullpen, the Braves are giving 23-year-old Mike Foltynewicz a shot in the rotation. Cahill was 0-3 with an 8.03 ERA in his first three starts, then gave up four runs in two innings of relief in Wednesday's 13-4 loss to Washington.
Foltynewicz, one of three players acquired from Houston in January in exchange for Evan Gattis, was 0-1 with a 5.30 ERA in 16 relief appearances for the Astros last year. The 23-year-old struggled in spring training, going 0-2 with a 5.84 ERA, prompting the organization to send him to Triple-A Gwinnett.
He went 0-3 in four starts despite a 2.08 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 21 2-3 innings. The 23-year-old failed to log more than five innings in three of his four outings.
Though Atlanta's pitching wasn't hit hard again like it was in giving up 26 runs and 30 hits over back-to-back defeats to the Nationals, the bullpen struggled again. Braves relievers allowed two of Cincinnati's home runs and have surrendered 18 runs in 12 innings over the last four games.
Chris Johnson will be placed on the disabled list after breaking his hand sliding into second base in the fourth inning, freeing a roster spot for Foltynewicz.
A.J. Pierzynski didn't play Thursday but has hit safely in all 12 games, batting .422 with 14 RBIs.
