This one stayed close for six innings, then Washington turned it into a laugher. The Nationals scored three times in the eighth to cap a 7-1 win over Cincinnati at Nationals Park, breaking open a game that had been tied as recently as the second inning.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIN | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| WSH | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | X | 7 | 13 | 0 |
Andres Chaparro delivered the biggest blow of the night, a double to center in the eighth that brought home both Young and Ruiz. Keibert Ruiz went 3-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, while Jorbit Vivas added two hits and scored a run. Abimelec Ortiz went 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI, and Daylen Lile chipped in two hits and a run driven in.
Washington's first lead came in the second inning, when Jacob Young lifted a sacrifice fly to left that brought home Vivas, who had scored moments after Ruiz's single tied the game at 1-1. Ortiz added to the margin in the third with a solo homer to left center measured at 378 feet. The Nationals tacked on again in the seventh on Lile's single that brought home Abrams, before the floodgates opened in the eighth. Young grounded into a fielder's choice that scored Pinckney, and two batters later Chaparro's double cleared the bases further, plating both Young and Ruiz.
Cincinnati's only run came in the second, a sacrifice fly by Dane Myers that brought home Tyler Stephenson to open the scoring. Brady Singer worked six innings for the Reds, allowing 8 hits and 3 runs (3 earned) with 3 strikeouts and a walk, but fell to 5-11 as Cincinnati's bullpen unraveled behind him, surrendering 4 runs over 2.0 innings. Reliever Will Dion picked up his first win for Washington, working 3.0 scoreless innings with a strikeout and just 1 hit allowed, while the Nationals' bullpen as a whole covered 6.1 innings without allowing a run.
Washington has now won three straight and improved to 59-61, while Cincinnati dropped its third in a row to fall to 56-61.