Braves and Reds set to break MLB attendance record at Bristol Motor Speedway. Here's how to watch

New York Times

4 days ago

If the season ended right now, neither the Atlanta Braves nor the Cincinnati Reds would qualify for playoff baseball. Yet their Saturday night matchup has already sold more than 85,000 tickets and is poised to smash MLB's all-time paid attendance record for a regular-season game. Here's the catch: It's going down at an international raceway with a colossal capacity of 146,000 people. Engines are revved up for baseball's inaugural Speedway Classic. This should be a rather cool (if visually disorienting) thing to watch.
Bristol Motor Speedway has been prepping for this event since 2022. Saturday marks the first regular-season MLB action in the state of Tennessee. Barring unforeseen circumstances or a mass no-show, it will also set a new all-time high at the gates. The league's previous paid attendance record of 84,587 for an in-season game was set in 1954 at Cleveland Stadium. A few unique games have topped that mark — more than 115,000 fans packed it in for a 2008 exhibition at Los Angeles Coliseum, the same venue that drew more than 92,000 for the Dodgers' home games in the 1959 World Series. With day-of walk-ins, comped tickets and staff, Saturday's showdown could indeed crack six-figure attendance.
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The masses will certainly get their money's worth if Saturday is anything like Thursday's series opener. The Braves and Reds combined for 16 runs in the eighth inning of that thriller. Atlanta churned out a couple of infield hits in the top part of the frame, and knocked around four different Cincinnati pitchers to seemingly put things out of reach. Then the Reds responded with eight (!) consecutive hits of their own, including a three-run homer from newly acquired Ke'Bryan Hayes. Soon after, Spencer Steer matched that in dramatic, swaggering style:
SPENCE DOES IT AGAIN!!!@spenc__er pic.twitter.com/6DADlZQYP9
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 1, 2025
Atlanta wound up winning 12-11 in 10 innings. Friday afternoon's follow-up saw the hosts win by a final score of 3-2, but the Braves mounted a spirited late comeback that fell just short. Saturday is now a rubber-burning rubber match.
Aptly, this Speedway Classic features two hard-throwing starters on the bump. ATL's Spencer Strider (5–8, 3.71 ERA) had the most strikeouts in baseball back in 2023, before a right elbow injury washed away his 2024 campaign. His four-seam is clocking in around 95.5 mph, and he's in the 90 percentile for whiff rate this season. He's matched by Cincy rookie Chase Burns, who has 10 Ks in each of his last three starts. Burns averages a blistering 98.3 mph on his fastball, with a 90.3 mph slider to complement.
From The Athletic's trade deadline grades (Jim Bowden):
Braves — D: 'The Braves didn't make any significant trades to improve their team for 2026 and beyond. They were unable to trade DH Marcell Ozuna, who has 10-and-5 rights, and despite the strong market for relievers, they ended up retaining Raisel Iglesias. They were able to add three veteran pitchers to help them get through the regular season and avoid rushing pitching prospects to the majors if their staff suffers even more injuries in August or September. However, it was disappointing that the Braves couldn't make any moves to begin to improve their 2026 team.'
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Reds — B: 'The Reds improved their infield defense significantly with the addition of Ke'Bryan Hayes, who is in line for another Gold Glove Award, leading all third basemen with 16 Defensive Runs Saved. However, they also had to commit to his contract through 2029 at an average annual value of $7.5 million, and took on injury risk given his back issues over the years. His defense is superb, but his hitting has been brutal; he's carrying a 61 OPS+ on the season. The Reds added to their starting pitching depth, getting Zack Littell (3.58 ERA over 22 starts). They also added a power bat in outfielder Miguel Andujar, who crushes left-handed pitching and is more of a platoon-type player.'
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(Photo by Patrick Smith / Getty Images)