Reds' national exposure comes with schedule downside

CINCINNATI -- For the first time this season, the Reds were featured on the Sunday-night national telecast by ESPN when they hosted the Cardinals in their three-game series finale.

The downside to the 8 p.m. ET game is what was next. The Reds were slated to fly overnight to Los Angeles, where they were scheduled to land at 2:45 a.m. PT, and then open a three-game series vs. the Dodgers at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Monday. The Cardinals were to fly back to St. Louis for a Monday-afternoon game vs. the Yankees.

"We both benefit from the national exposure, and that's good for our club," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "It's not great -- the travel for both teams -- especially us going to Los Angeles to play a 5 p.m. game, going through three time zones. That won't be an excuse for our play. We need to come out there and play well in this series in L.A. But it wouldn't be the way that any of us would draw it up, by any means. You have to embrace the fact that we're on a national stage, take advantage of that, and play a good ballgame."