The Cincinnati Reds led this game 5-0 after the 1st inning. That was not a safe lead as the Nationals stormed back to tie things up and would see an extra-innings win go there way. Washington has won the first two games of the series and will go for the sweep on Thursday afternoon.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Nationals (21-22) | 8 | 10 | 1 |
| Cincinnati Reds (22-21) | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| W: Varland (1-1) L: Santillan (1-2) SV:Poulin (2) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
After Nick Lodolo struck out the side to begin the game his offense went to work for him. Elly De La Cruz started things with a single into left field. He took second base on a fly out to the wall and then came around to score when JJ Bleday doubled to the wall in right.
Spencer Steer was called out on strikes to end the inning, but he immediately tapped his helmet to challenge the call. He was correct and it was overturned. He would draw a walk two pitches later to keep the inning alive. Nathaniel Lowe followed with a walk of his own to load the bases. Tyler Stephenson then took care of business when he a 91 MPH fastball in the middle of the zone and hit it 406 feet off of the face of the upper deck in left field for a grand slam to make it 5-0.
The Nationals weren’t going to roll over. They are one of the best offenses in all of Major League Baseball. And they went right to work with CJ Abrams leading off with a double. He was followed by a single and then scored on a sacrifice fly. Joey Wiemer then doubled in a run before scoring on a long 2-out 2-run home run by Keibert Ruiz that made it a 5-4 ballgame. Nick Lodolo got himself into more trouble in the 3rd as he hit a batter, gave up a double, and then walked two batters – with the final one bringing in the tying run.
Cincinnati was able to get the lead back in the bottom of the inning with some help from the Nationals defense. Spencer Steer singled and then came around to score when CJ Abrams threw the ball way past the first baseman when trying to turn a double play, allowing Steer to score on the play.
After Nick Lodolo tossed a scoreless 4th inning and was sitting at 87 pitches the Reds went to the bullpen to bring in Tejay Antone to begin the 5th. He would give up back-to-back singles to begin the inning and Washington would tie the game back up on a groundout.
Elly De La Cruz led off the bottom of the 7th inning with a double and he moved up to third on a groundout. JJ Bleday then walked to put two men on, but Spencer Steer grounded into an inning-ending double play as the game remained tied at six.
The Reds entered the bottom of the 9th inning with the game still tied up. Matt McLain led off with a double. Dane Myers then attempted to lay down a bunt, but instead he popped it up. Elly De La Cruz then flew out to left-center and McLain had to retreat to second base. For the second time in the last three innings the home team was unable to take advantage of a leadoff double as Sal Stewart grounded out to send the game to extras.
Cincinnati called on Tony Santillan to start the 10th inning. After getting a fly out to center, Santillan gave up a 409-foot go-ahead home run to Daylen Lile as the Nationals took the lead for the first time all game. The bottom of the inning began with Sal Stewart on second base for the Reds. He came around to score on a long fly ball by Spencer Steer that a fan reached out and caught at the wall. The call on the field was a review and the fan may have cost his team a tie ballgame because the umpires ruled fan interference on a ball that very well may have hit the top of the wall and bounced out. Steer took third on a groundout, leaving the game in the hands of Tyler Stephenson with two outs and the tying run 90 feet away. He was about to walk to give Blake Dunn a chance to push the tying run across the plate, but he couldn’t come through as he grounded out.
Key Moment of the Game
Take your pick. Was it the Reds not being able to score after a leadoff double in the 7th? Was it the same thing in the 9th? Was it the 2-run homer in the 10th from Daylen Lile? Was it the fan interference in the bottom of the 10th that may have cost the Reds a game-tying home run?
Notes Worth Noting
Elly De La Cruz has had five straight multi-hit games. That’s bumped his average up to .295 on the season.
Tony Santillan allowed three earned runs through the month of April and all of those runs came in one game. He’s now pitched in five games in May and has given up a run in all five of them. He’s given up a home run in four straight games (five total home runs). Santillan has given up nine hits and walked two batters in just 3.1 innings over those five games.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Washington Nationals vs Cincinnati Reds
Wednesday May 14th, 12:40pm ET
Foster Griffin (4-1, 2.12 ERA) vs Chase Burns (4-1, 2.11 ERA)