Cincinnati faced a large deficit on the day as they trailed 7-0 after three innings. But the Reds didn’t just roll over as they battled back to get within striking distance but couldn’t make it all the way as the Washington Nationals held on for a 10-8 win to open up the series.
Final
R
H
E
Cincinnati Reds (52-49)
8
9
0
Washington Nationals (40-60)
10
15
0
W: Chafin (1-0) L: Singer (7-8)
Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread
Walks will haunt. And so will extra-base hits. Brady Singer learned about both in the bottom of the 1st inning as he issues two walks and gave up three extra-base hits as Washington took a 4-0 lead. Two innings later the the Nationals were at it once again. Josh Bell led off with a home run against Singer. He’d later give up a single and then hit a batter with one out before exiting the game. Lyon Richardson came in out of the bullpen and picked up a strikeout to begin his outing, but then he gave up back-to-back RBI hits to Riley Adams and Jacob Young as the home team made it 7-0.
Cincinnati, down by a touchdown, got the 4th inning started with back-to-back walks against Jake Irvin. Four straight RBI singles followed as the Reds began to cut into the lead. They would tack on another run to follow, but it came at the expense of a double play by Jose Trevino. That would be the last run they would get, but the 5-run inning got them back into the game.
Washington went back to the old trusty walks will haunt offensive strategy in the bottom of the frame. James Wood led off with a double to begin the inning, but he moved over to third base when back-to-back walks followed. That was important because he scored on a sacrifice fly that pushed the Nationals lead to 8-5.
The Reds would walk three times in the top of the 5th inning but they were only able to plate one out of it. Noelvi Marte came through with a single that brought in Elly De La Cruz, who had led off the inning with a walk.
The score remained 8-5 until the bottom of the 6th inning. Washington put together a rally against Sam Moll and Graham Ashcraft to push two more runs across the plate and extend their lead to 10-6.
Neither team would score in the 7th or the 8th innings. That left the Reds with one more chance in the top of the 9th to try and extend the game. The inning started out in a good way as Matt McLain singled and Elly De La Cruz followed up with a walk. Gavin Lux then came through with a 1-out RBI single that made it 10-7 and brought the tying run to the plate. Will Benson came up to the plate and struck out on three pitches for the second out. Noelvi Marte then stepped into the batters box representing the team’s last hope, but before he got a chance Cincinnati scored another run on a wild pitch to make it 10-8. That was as close as it would get as Marte would pop up to first base to end the game.
Key Moment of the Game
The Nationals grabbing a 7-0 lead in the 3rd inning.
Notes Worth Noting
The Reds batters walked eight times, struck out just three times, and had six hits with runners in scoring position on the day. And it didn’t matter.
One reason it didn’t matter is because that Nationals also walked eight times and they had eight extra-base hits. Cincinnati had just one.
Elly De La Cruz had three of the Reds eight walks, he stole a base, and he scored three of the team’s runs on the day.
Gavin Lux, Noelvi Marte, and Jake Fraley all had two hits and drove in at least one run.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Washington Nationals
Tuesday July 22nd, 6:45pm ET
Chase Burns (0-1, 6.19 ERA) vs Brad Lord (2-5, 3.46 ERA)
