It was as if every pitcher on both sides spent the All-Star break pitching horseshoes or tossing lawn darts — anything but baseballs.
- How messy was it?
- Both team used seven pitchers.
- There were 349 pitches thrown, 189 by the Reds and 160 by the Nationals.
- There were 16 walks issued, eight by each side.
- There were 24 hits, 15 by the Nationals, but only one home run, a solo blast by Washington’s Josh Bell.
- The Nationals were 7 for 20 with runners in scoring position and stranded 14. The Reds were 6 for 18 and stranded eight.
It started poorly for the Reds and ended poorly. The Nationals scored four runs in the first inning against Reds starter Brady Singer and added three more in the third for a 7-0 lead. In 2 1/3 innings he gave up seven runs, five hits, walked two and threw 57 pitches, one that was hit by Bell for a home run.
“He just wasn’t throwing the ball where he wanted,” said Reds manager Tito Francona told reporters after the game about Singer’s night that was over before it got dark. “His ball was moving in all different directions and he wasn’t commanding the way he needed.”
Singer actually pitched a 1-2-3 second inning and appeared to have found his way.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“The second inning he went out and was actually pretty good,” said Francona. “And the next inning they (Bell) started it with the home run. I didn’t want to go get him that quick, but I wanted to keep the game where it was because I thought we might have a chance to win.”
They came close.
Was it over after the Reds fell behind, 7-0? Was it what they call a laugher for the Nationals?
To the Reds credit they didn’t surrender, Washington starter Jake Irvin isn’t used to the lowly Nats giving him a 7-0 lead.
So he walked the first two Reds in the fourth, Elly De La Cruz and Austin Hays. Gavin Lux doubled, Spencer Steer beat out an infield single, Noelvi Marte singled and the Reds had five runs and trailed by only 7-5.
The Nationals scored a run off Lyon Richardson in the fourth, but the Reds retrieved it in the fifth when once again a Washington pitcher, Mason Thompson, walked both De La Cruz and Hays.
But this time the Reds only scored one on a Noelvi Marte single and they left the bases loaded on Jose Trevino’s fly ball.
But the Reds were within striking distance at 8-6 until Washington scored two in the sixth off Sam Moll and Graham Ashcraft.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Francona sent Brent Suter out to pitch the eighth and he gave up two singles and a walk to fill the base before coaxing an inning-ending ground ball from Bell.
It took Suter 24 pitches to wade through the inning after he had pitched 1 1/3 innings Sunday in New York, where he took the 3-2 loss by giving up a run, a hit and a walk.
“Suter threw a bunch of pitches yesterday and he is back in there today,” said Francona. “That’s hard on those guys. When you ask them to face guys that you don’t necessarily want them to, it’s not going to go well... that’s just the way it is. That’s why you don’t want to get the starters done early.”
The Reds had a last hurrah in the ninth against Washington closer Kyle Finnegan, asked to protect the 10-6 lead.
It nearly got away from him.
Matt McLain opened with a single and De La Cruz walked for the third time.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
After De La Cruz walked, Finnegan fell 2-and-0 behind Hays,. but he swung at an inside 2-and-0 pitch and flied to center. But Gavin Lux singled, scoring McLain and De La Cruz scored on a wild pitch, cutting the margin to 10-8.
Pinch-hitter Will Benson, batting for Spencer Steer as the potential tying run, struck out on three pitches and Marte popped up to the first baseman to end it.
NEXT GAME
Who: Cincinnati at Washington
When: 6:45 p.m.
TV: FanDuel Sports
Radio: 1410-AM, 700-AM
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