Terry Francona Raves About Rookie In Reds' Win Over Braves

The Cincinnati Reds have had a relatively disappointing season due to a combination of injuries and players struggling to remain consistent. Although the playoffs are well out of reach at this point in the year, the team has called up a couple of their young studs like  Héctor Rodríguez and Carlos Jorge.

Jorge set the tone in Cincinnati's 7-6 win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night, launching a solo homer during the first inning off right-hander Tyler Mahle who had compiled a solid 3.81 ERA prior to the matchup.

Following the game, the 23-year-old Jorge garnered kudos from manager Terry Francona who raved about his versatility and commended the club's resiliency against one of the National League's best.

"This kid started out in Double-A but there is a lot to not like, there's a lot to love," Francona said in a postgame interview. "His skillset kind of screams top of the order, center fielder but we need to let him play. We're getting towards the end, I get that but they played with some enthusiasm and it's a good team we played against today."

Still, Atlanta's offense erupted for four runs that same inning as Matt Olson brought home Drake Baldwin with a sacrifice fly while Michael Harris II recorded a one-run double, driving in Ronald Acuña Jr.

Harris scored as well off an infield single by Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley extended the Braves' lead to 4-1, scoring Mauricio Dubón.

Matt McLain responded in the second with an RBI single to score Rodríguez while the Reds reclaimed the lead in the third when Elly De La Cruz crushed a solo blast to right field and Eugenio Suárez brought in Sal Stewart and Tyler Stephenson.

The Braves clawed back over the next couple innings to pull ahead 6-5, Rodríguez tallied the game-sealing runs with a two-run homer in the sixth. 

Atlanta threatened one last time in the ninth when Harris reached on an infield single and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Nonetheless, closer Emilio Pagán held on for his 25th save this season.

With the win, Jorge has batted .147 while recording a .488 OPS and knocking in one RBI. While it is a small sample size, the Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic native has the markings of a future contributor written all over him.

Besides Thursday, Jorge also recorded a hit during Tuesday's opener which Cincinnati won 4-0 on the heels of Suárez's 350th career home run.

He would assume a bench role in Wednesday's matchup with the Reds facing Braves All-Star Chris Sale, a tough matchup for a younger player like Jorge who is still getting his feet wet against major-league pitching.

For now, it appears that the Reds aren't giving up on him as they turn their attention to their final series of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays starting this evening.