Cincinnati Reds at Washington Nationals
· Major League Baseball2 - 5
Rookie James Wood's 3-run homer gives the Nationals a 5-2 win and a 3-game sweep of the Reds
Wood, a 21-year-old rookie and the Nationals' top prospect, Justin Wilson 405 feet the opposite way to left field. His second homer since his debut on July 1 gave the Nationals their fifth win in six games.
“Electric. He's something special,” Nationals starter Jake Irvin said. “And I'm excited to be a part of it. Excited for him.”
After general manager Mike Rizzo made clear on Friday that Washington is still in rebuilding mode, the Nationals (47-53) drew even in the wild-card standings with Cincinnati, which began the second half hoping to make a playoff push. The Reds have lost four straight and fell into last place in the NL Central.
“We have so much to play for. So much time left ahead of us that that's the focus now,” Cincinnati manager David Bell said. “You have to find ways to improve, especially when things aren't going well.”
Wood, who showed impressive power in the minor leagues, came into the game with two extra-base hits in three weeks in the majors. On Sunday, he had an infield single on a hard-hit comebacker and two drives to the outfield before he went deep.
“I kind of just kept my head up,” Wood said. “I felt like I was making good contact, and I kind of had to trust that, you know, the results will come.”
Irvin and Andrew Abbott dueled to a stalemate over seven innings. Irvin allowed solo homers to Noelvi Marte and Stuart Fairchild among five hits. He struck out seven and walked none, giving the Nationals’ bullpen the break it needed after it had to cover seven innings Saturday night.
Robert Garcia (2-3) pitched the eighth before All-Star Kyle Finnegan worked the ninth for his 28th save in 32 chances. He saved each of the three wins against the Reds.
“We really take pride in pitching in a lot of games and a lot of close games,” Finnegan said.
Abbott was stout for Cincinnati, giving up two unearned runs on six hits before yielding to Lucas Sims (1-4) for the final out of the seventh. Sims allowed a two-out single to Keibert Ruiz and a bunt single to Ildemaro Vargas in the eighth before Wood’s homer.
Abbott got some help from his outfield. Left fielder Will Benson made a diving, backhanded catch of a liner by Wood in the fourth to take away an extra-base hit, then dived again to snare a sinking liner by Jacob Young to end the inning. Center fielder Fairchild banged into the wall to catch a drive by Wood in the sixth.
Juan Yepez extended his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games with a double in the third. He has a hit in every game he’s played for Washington, the longest streak to begin a stint with a team since David Dahl’s 16 games for Colorado in 2016.
Reds All-Star Elly De La Cruz stole his major league-leading 48th base after a two-out walk in the eighth but was stranded when Jeimer Candelario popped out.
The Nationals scored two unearned runs in the third when catcher Austin Wynns threw to third to try to pick off Young, who scored when third baseman Marte whiffed on the catch. Harold Ramírez followed with an RBI single.
“Noelvi missed the ball. It led to two runs. Noelvi knows he missed the ball,” Bell said. “We had a lot of game left at that point.”
TRAINER'S ROOM
Reds: OF TJ Friedl (right hamstring strain) began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Louisville.
Nationals: Irvin was visited briefly by trainers after he appeared to turn his ankle fielding a comebacker in the third.
UP NEXT
Reds: Right-hander Hunter Greene (6-4, 3.34 ERA) makes his first start since he took the loss in the All-Star Game as Cincinnati begins a three-game series at Atlanta.
Nationals: Have not announced a starter for Tuesday's opener of a three-game series against visiting San Diego.
How can I watch Cincinnati Reds vs. Washington Nationals?
- TV Channel: Reds at Nationals 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MASN.
- Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
Matchup Prediction
Scoring Summary
9th Inning | Marte grounded out to pitcher. | |
9th Inning | Fraley struck out swinging. | |
9th Inning | Steer lined out to center. | |
9th Inning | Finnegan relieved R. Garcia | |
9th Inning | Adams catching. | |
9th Inning | Winker as designated hitter. |
Statistics
CIN | WSH | |
---|---|---|
1 | Games Played | 1 |
1 | Team Games Played | 1 |
0 | Hit By Pitch | 0 |
12 | Ground Balls | 11 |
9 | Strikeouts | 3 |
2 | Runs Batted In | 4 |
0 | Sacrifice Hit | 0 |
5 | Hits | 9 |
1 | Stolen Bases | 0 |
1 | Walks | 3 |
0 | Catcher Interference | 0 |
2 | Runs | 5 |
0 | Ground Into Double Play | 0 |
0 | Sacrifice Flies | 0 |
32 | At Bats | 32 |
2 | Home Runs | 1 |
0 | Grand Slam Home Runs | 0 |
6 | Runners Left On Base | 11 |
0 | Triples | 0 |
0 | Game Winning RBIs | 1 |
0 | Intentional Walks | 0 |
2 | Doubles | 1 |
11 | Fly Balls | 18 |
0 | Caught Stealing | 1 |
122 | Pitches | 124 |
0 | Games Started | 0 |
1 | Pinch At Bats | 1 |
0 | Pinch Hits | 0 |
0.0 | Player Rating | 0.0 |
1 | Is Qualified | 1 |
1 | Is Qualified In Steals | 1 |
13 | Total Bases | 13 |
33 | Plate Appearances | 35 |
324.0 | Projected Home Runs | 162.0 |
4 | Extra Base Hits | 2 |
2.6 | Runs Created | 4.3 |
.156 | Batting Average | .281 |
.000 | Pinch Hit Average | .000 |
.406 | Slugging Percentage | .406 |
.313 | Secondary Average | .188 |
.182 | On Base Percentage | .343 |
.588 | OBP Pct + SLG Pct | .749 |
1.1 | Ground To Fly Ball Ratio | 0.6 |
2.6 | Runs Created Per 27 Outs | 4.8 |
24.0 | Batter Rating | 32.0 |
16.0 | At Bats Per Home Run | 32.0 |
1.00 | Stolen Base Percentage | 0.00 |
3.70 | Pitches Per Plate Appearance | 3.54 |
.250 | Isolated Power | .125 |
0.11 | Walk To Strikeout Ratio | 1.00 |
.030 | Walks Per Plate Appearance | .086 |
.156 | Secondary Average Minus Batting Average | -.094 |
4.0 | Runs Produced | 9.0 |
1.0 | Runs Ratio | 0.8 |
0.4 | Patience Ratio | 0.5 |
0.1 | Balls In Play Average | 0.3 |
72.5 | MLB Rating | 84.0 |
0.0 | Offensive Wins Above Replacement | 0.0 |
0.0 | Wins Above Replacement | 0.0 |
Game Information
Location: Washington, District of Columbia
Attendance: 23,967 | Capacity:
2024 National League Central Standings
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Milwaukee | 93 | 69 | .574 | - | L1 |
St. Louis | 83 | 79 | .512 | 10 | W1 |
Chicago | 83 | 79 | .512 | 10 | L1 |
Cincinnati | 77 | 85 | .475 | 16 | W1 |
Pittsburgh | 76 | 86 | .469 | 17 | L1 |
2024 National League East Standings
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia | 95 | 67 | .586 | - | W1 |
Atlanta | 89 | 73 | .549 | 6 | W1 |
New York | 89 | 73 | .549 | 6 | L1 |
Washington | 71 | 91 | .438 | 24 | L1 |
Miami | 62 | 100 | .383 | 33 | W4 |