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CINCINNATI - Justin Upton hit a two-run homer in the 12th inning Friday night, rallying the Atlanta Braves to a 3-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds after left-hander Mike Minor came up four outs short of a no-hitter. Miroslav Klose Germany Jersey . Uptons 25th homer off Manny Parra (0-1) gave Atlanta its seventh victory in eight games. David Hale (4-4) pitched out of a two-on threat in the 11th. Craig Kimbrel got the last three outs for his 38th save in 42 chances. The Reds managed only two hits — a pair of singles by Billy Hamilton — in their seventh consecutive loss. They fell seven games under .500 for the first time since 2009. Cincinnati (61-68) has dropped out of contention by going 10-24 since the All-Star break. Minor has only one complete game in his career, but he held the Reds without a hit into the eighth, bidding to become the first Braves pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Kent Mercker in 1994. Zack Cozart drew Minors fourth walk and advanced on a groundout. Hamilton lined an RBI single to centre with two outs to end the no-hitter on Minors 107th and final pitch. Cincinnatis defence kept it in the game even though the Reds couldnt get a hit until late. Mat Latos gave up nine hits — matching his season high — but limited the Braves to one run in six innings with the help of several run-saving defensive plays. Upton extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single, helping the Braves load the bases with one out in the third. Cozart saved at least one run by making a diving stop on Tommy La Stellas grounder to the hole at shortstop and getting a forceout at second, holding Atlanta to one run on the play. Second baseman Brandon Phillips saved two more runs in the sixth. With runners on second and third and two outs, he made an over-the-shoulder catch of Jason Heywards fly to shallow right field. Atlanta (68-61) stranded six runners in scoring position over the first six innings. TRAINERS ROOM Reds: LHP Tony Cingrani is still having problems with his left shoulder, preventing him from throwing. He was on the DL in May with a sore shoulder, struggled after his return and was optioned to Triple-A Louisville, where his shoulder began bothering him again. ON DECK Braves: Ervin Santana (13-6) has won his only other career start against the Reds, beating them 5-4 on April 25 at Turner Field. Reds: Mike Leake (9-11) is trying for his first win since Aug. 3. Hes 0-2 with a no-decision in his last three starts. ___ Follow Joe Kay on Twitter: http://twitter.com/apjoekay Benedikt Howedes Germany . A few changes have been made this year, as RDS will no longer be producing it. Instead, the Canadiens have hired their own team of creative masterminds to produce the reality series. Jurgen Klinsmann Jersey . - Russell Wilson is getting on the diamond again.TSN baseball analyst Steve Phillips looks at Robinson Canos contract demands, who was in the wrong in the Braves/Brewers brawl, the best and worst moves made by GMs this season and the end of the Yankees run. 1. According to an ESPN report, 30-year-old second baseman Robinson Cano is looking for a 10-year, $305 million contract when he hits free agency after the World Series. Will recent bad examples (A-Rod, Pujols) of such long-term deals make it any harder for Cano to get what he wants, or is it still safe to say someone will pony up? I completely understand why Robinson Cano would ask for a 10-year, $300M+ deal. Why not? His agent wouldnt be doing his job if he didnt start by asking for the biggest deal ever. Cano is the best player available this off-season and typically that guy asks for the most money ever. The union likes it that way. It is somewhat predictable. Cano is a Yankee. They have the highest payroll in the game which empowers agents. Considering that the Yanks didnt make the playoffs this year for only the second time in the last 19 years, Canos camp may sense some desperation on the Yankees behalf to retain him. Desperate teams are easy prey for wily agents. Robinson Cano is the best second baseman in baseball. Plus, he is the best player on the Yankees. That is worth a ton of money. Teams with interest in Cano are going to have to weigh the length and volume of the contract. Any player who makes the kind of money that Cano is seeking or that ARod and Pujols are making, effectively own the organization. Clubs have to decide whether to mortgage the future of their franchises to sign one player. It is risky stuff. I dealt in chump change back when I was general manager. In 1998, I signed Mike Piazza to a seven-year, $91 million contract, the biggest at the time. That worked out pretty well, although Piazza wasnt nearly the same player the last few years of the deal as he was the first four years. I offered Mike Hampton a seven-year, $105 million deal that he thankfully rejected and signed with Colorado (eight years, $120M). I remember uttering my proposal to Hamptons agent and immediately regretting it. Instant buyers remorse. I was scared to death to sign a pitcher for that period of time. I was lucky as Hampton turned out to be a bust. Alex Rodriguezs 10-year, $275 million contract is an albatross around the Yankees neck. They would love to get out from underneath it. Even if Rodriguez werent tied to steroid usage, the Yanks would want to dump him. His performance has declined so significantly and he has been hurt so much that they arent coming close to getting their moneys worth. Rodriguez has had numerous off-field issues as well, which have caused distraction and frustration for the organization. On the other end of the spectrum, Albert Pujols is one of the best human beings in baseball. He is one of the hardest workers and most disciplined players in the game. He works hard and prepares. He cares and he wants to win. He takes care of his body. He is a superstar with a utility man attitude. His contract for 10 years and $240 million looks to have been a bad investment so far, too. Pujols has underperformed during his first two years as an Angel. He has been hampered by injuries, ultimately having his 2013 season ended because of a tear in his foot. What seemed like a great investment in one of the best people/player combinations has quickly unraveled. There will be very few teams that will even consider Cano. Some teams will be eliminated because of the length of the contract and some because of the annual average value. Even owners who may want to make a splash could quickly be chased away by the Pujols and Rodriguez stories. The main players in the Cano sweepstakes are likely the Yankees, Dodgers, Angels, Mets and Tigers. For each club though, there is reason to doubt their willingness to spend the big bucks. The Dodgers have big dollars tied up in a number of players already. The Angels have spent money on Pujols and Josh Hamilton over the past two years. How much more risk can they assume? The Mets are still digging themselves out from the Bernie Madoff mess and were clearly burned by the Johan Santana mega-deal. Plus, the Mets will not start a bidding war in NY that they cant win. The Tigers have been big spenders in a middle market and you have to wonder how much more is in the bank. That leaves the Yankees. They have been burned by the ARod deal. Plus, they want a payroll under $189 million and signing Cano would make that nearly impossible. The rational me thinks that Cano wont get a 10-year deal and he wont get $30 million per year. But the experience in me says that it only takes one team and whenever the Yankees are in the mix, big money will be spent. Remember, there is always one more Yankee dollar than any other club can pay. My prediction is that the Yankees let Cano test the market where he realizes that the $305 million isnt there. The Yanks ultimately get a deal done in the eight-year, $184 million range. 2. Brian McCann and Carlos Gomez got into it after Gomez had a very slow home run trot in the Brewers win over the Braves on Wednesday. Its the second time McCann has gotten into someones face this month. Who was in the wrong? The Braves/Brewers game on Wednesday night was ugly. Carlos Gomez was out of line. He crushed a home run. It was a blast worthy of admiration. Good for him. But you just arent allowed to stand at home plate and admire it in the big leagues. And admire it, he did. Straight away center field about 12 rows up. The ball sailed out of the park. It hit a seat and bounced another 8-10 rows up. It was only as the ball was rolling back down through the stands that Gomez finally touched first base. What he did violated one of the unwritten rules of baseball: "Thou shall not show up the opposition." When you win a confrontation in baseball, it is not proper etiquette to over-celebrate and rub it in. Gomez clearly did that. He was in the wrong. The Braves were appropriately angered by Gomezs behavior and let him have it as he ran around the bases, particularly first baseman Freddie Freeman and catcher Brian McCann, who blocked home plate. It is the first and only time I have ever seen a catcher block home plate when the homer went out of the park. He was holding Gomez accountable for his behavior. He was confronting it. Someone had to do it. Gomez was clearly in the wrong. The Braves were disrespected and needed to address it with Gomez. The mistake on the Braves part though is that they put at risk their post-season hopes. When McCanns confrontation with Gomez escalated to a bench-clearing brawl, the Braves put at risk their entire season of hard work that put them atop the NL East and a shot at the best overall record. All it takes is one nut job from the Brewers to sucker punch McCann or Freeman or Jason Kimb
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