By Hal McCoy
It was a Battle of the Bullpens Saturday night in Nationals Park and the Cincinnati Reds came up unarmed.
Four Washington Nationals relief pitchers, including two former Reds, held the Reds to no runs and two hits over the final six innings in a 5-4 Washington victory.
On the other side, Reds relief pitchers Fernando Cruz and Justin Wilson gave up two late-inning runs as Cincinnati fell to 8-19 in one-run decisions,
And it ruined a good performance by Reds starter Nick Lodolo. He pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up six hits while walking one and striking out eight.
The Reds led, 4-3, after six innings, but number nine hitter Jacob Young singled to open the seventh. Manager David Bell permitted Lodolo to face left-handed CJ Abrams and he flied to left on Lodolo’s 104th pitch, the most he has thrown this season.
Bell brought in Fernando Cruz to face Lane Thomas and Young stole second. On a 3-and-2 count Thomas blooped a game-tying double down the right field line and it was 4-4.
Justin Wilson began the eighth and was greeted with a double to left Ildermaro Vargas. Rookie James Wood, 21, Washington’s version of Elly De La Cruz, moved the runner to third on a fundamentally sound grounder to the right side.
Trey Lipscomb grounded to the mound for the second out and Vargas had to hold third.
But it was that number nine hitter again. . .Young. He picked on Wilson’s first pitch and singled to left, driving home the winning run.
Washington closer Kyle Finnegan recorded hios 27th save with a 1-2-3 ninth that began with a strikeout of De La Cruz. Jeimer Candelario concluded a 0-for-5 night by lining out to center and it ended on Spencer Steer’s pop-up.
Former Red Dylan Floro pitched a scoreless fifth and sixth (one hit, one walk) and former Red Derek Law pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth (one hit, one walk).
It looked as if the Reds would run away with it early when Washington starter MacKenzie Gore had no idea where home plate was located. If there had been a quarter on top of the plate, he could have found it with a metal detector.
His first seven pitches of the game were balls and he walked both Jonathan India and De La Cruz. Both scored. India scored on Spencer Steer’s single and De La Cruz scored on Austin Slater’s sacrifice fly.
It took Gore a career-worst 48 pitches to get through the first, the most pitches he ever threw in one inning.
The Reds were on a streak of 19 straight games without giving up a run in the first inning. That ended with one swing of the bat.
Lodolo gave up a leadoff infield single to Abram and struck out the next two. But Harold Ramirez launched a 1-and-1 fastball 429 feet into the left-center stands to tie it, 2-2.
Gore’s miseries continued in the second after he retired the first two Reds. He walked India again and De La Cruz doubled him home.
Gore was done after two innings and the Reds scored another run in the third against relief pitcher Jordan Weems. It came off the bat of
Tyler Stephenson, a 426-foot homer to left, his 11th homer and fifth in eight games.
That made it 4-2, but the Reds hit the snooze button from there — no runs, two hits over the final six innings. They were 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine.
Washington scored its third run in the fourth inning, but Lodolo escaped when it could have been worse.
He walked Riley Adams to start the inning and Vargas singled. Wood forced Vargas at second as Adams took third. Lodolo struck out Lipscomb for the second out.
That brought up the pesky Young and Lodolo hit him with a pitch on a 1-and-2 count, filling the bases.
Abrams beat out a slow roller to first baseman Candelario, scoring Adams and the bases remained full. Lodolo kept it at 4-3 when he retired Thomas on a comebacker.
But the bullpen couldn’t hold it and the offense couldn’t add-on as the Reds lost to the Nationals for the second straight night.