Whatever the Speedway Classic was intended to mean for MLB, what it ended up being for the Cincinnati Reds was added hardship in the middle of a playoff race.

In a game that took parts of two days to complete due to rain, the Reds fell to the Braves, 4-2, on Aug. 3 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the famed auto-racing venue that staged the one-off, tentpole MLB ...