Nationals' 5 home runs lead to extra inning win in Cincinnati
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CINCINNATI — If the home run was the antidote for the Cincinnati Reds on Friday, it was poison on Saturday, as the Washington Nationals belted five home runs, including two in the 11th inning, sending the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-5 loss Saturday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
The Reds (3-2) had numerous opportunities to gain their fourth victory of the season, but they didn't either get the hitting or pitching they needed in the same inning.
Less than 24 hours following a game where Cincinnati hit six home runs, the visitors answered with the aforementioned five of their own, including two by Wilson Ramos, who belted his second home run in the 11th with one out, as that run proved to be the run which kept them ahead for the win.
It was another home run which kept the Nationals (4-1) in front for the win when two batters before Ramos, Ian Desmond sent the ball over the centerfield wall 439 feet to break a 5-5 tie off a pitch by J.J. Hoover, who was charged with the loss, as he falls to 0-2 on the year.
"The one by Desmond definitely was," Hoover said when speaking about the location of his pitches. "It was a slider, and I feel like he knew it was coming anyway. I hung [the pitch], and he got it.
"With Ramos, I feel like I executed the pitch, but he got it and beat me that time. I'd rather get these out of the way now than later in the season."
Baker said the Reds had their chances before Hoover's home runs allowed in the top of the 11th, as he spoke about pitching Hoover over Sean Marshall.
"It was better to save Sean for (Sunday)," Baker said. "Marshall wouldn't have been facing those right-handed hitters up there anyway, but it does put a little pressure on us and on some of the other guys. So we'll have Marshall available (Sunday).
"Like I said earlier, we had a couple times, so we just have to come out with some clutch hits, and (Friday) we hit the ball out of the ballpark, and (Saturday) they hit it out of the ballpark. I guess turnabout is fair play."
As mentioned before, the Reds had numerous chances to earn the win, including their half of the 11th when Joey Votto prolonged the game with a two-out walk. Votto was given second base by the Nationals, and Brandon Phillips brought home the former NL MVP as Phillips doubled to centerfield, scoring Votto.
The rally was stopped by a strikeout by Jay Bruce for the final out of the game, giving the win to Craig Stammen. Stammen pitched two innings of relief, allowing one run in two hits and one walk. Stammen (1-0) struck out four.
Speaking of the chances the Reds had to seal a victory, there were a few.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Reds rallied with the help of the Nationals' pitching and defense.
The rally began with a one-out double to centerfield by Phillips, followed by a single off the bat of Jay Bruce to left field. Todd Frazier batted in Phillips with a single to left field, cutting the Nationals' lead to three.
Cincinnati's deficit dropped to two with Devin Mesoraco reaching first on an infield error, allowing Bruce to score. Both Frazier and Mesoraco advanced on an errant throw to home, but neither was able to score with two outs on the board, and the inning ended on a strikeout.
Cincinnati stranded 11 batters in 11 innings.
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The ninth was just as sweet for the home team, as Cincinnati forced extra innings with Choo hitting a solo home run to open the home half of the inning off Washington closer Rafael Soriano, but it was Votto who also showed late-inning heroics as the former NL MVP tripled off the left field wall, racing around the bases to slide into third safely with one out.
Votto wasn't finished.
The Reds' first baseman scored on a wild pitch, sliding into home, tying the score at five.
WIth all the runs scored in the latter part of the contest, it was Washington who began the scoring parade with early inning runs.
The Nationals opened the scoring with a one-out, two-run home run by Bryce Harper as the 20-year-old sent the first pitch of the at-bat 356 feet over the right field fence for the 2-0 lead in the top of the third. Harper finished with two hits.
Harper this season has three home runs, as he belted two on Opening Day against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park.
In the third, the Reds opened the inning with a lead-off single to centerfield, followed by a line drive past the third baseman by Choo, but the momentum stopped quickly as Choo was forced out at second on a ground ball hit by Chris Heisey. The inning ended with a 4-6-3 double play hit into by Votto.
The Reds' half of the fourth began with Phillips taking two bases on a errant throw from short by Desmond. The error returned to haunt the team from Washington as Frazier doubled to the left-centerfield wall to score Phillips from second.
Cincinnati had their lead-off hitter reach base for the fourth consecutive inning as Choo was hit by a pitch. That was followed by Heisey rocketing the ball to left field on a line drive single.
From there, three consecutive outs occurred with Votto flying out to left field by a diving Harper, followed by Phillips hitting into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning for the second time in the first five innings.
The sixth inning had the second Washington home run, Ramos' first of the game, as the ball sailed 392 feet, bringing home Danny Espinosa, who was walked with two outs.
Jayson Werth (3-for-5, two runs) hit a solo blast to right field (419 feet) to lead off the seventh off Sam Lecure.
Starting the game on the mound for the Reds was Mike Leake, making his first start of the season. The former first-round draft choice pitched six innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits (two home runs) and four walks. Leake finished with four strikeouts.
"Mike threw well, except for the two two-run homers," Baker said. "The balls he got up on guys, especially the second one ... that hurt big time."
Alfredo Simon, Jonathan Broxton, Aroldis Chapman and Hoover each pitched one inning of relief. LeCure and Hoover were the only two relievers to give up hits and runs, while Broxton had one strikeout in the ninth and Chapman struck out all three batters he faced in the 10th, tossing 12 pitches, nine for strikes.
For Washington, Ross Detwiler made his first start of the season. The right-hander also pitched six innings, allowing one run (none earned) on six hits and one walk, adding one strikeout to his totals.
GAME NOTES: Reds pitchers struck out nine batters Saturday for 52 total strikeouts for the season (five games), setting a new franchise record over the first five games, as the former mark was 45 in '90 and '11 … Choo and Votto have reached base in all five games this season … The Reds are 0-2 this season in extra innings … Attendance was 34,762.
The Reds (3-2) had numerous opportunities to gain their fourth victory of the season, but they didn't either get the hitting or pitching they needed in the same inning.
Less than 24 hours following a game where Cincinnati hit six home runs, the visitors answered with the aforementioned five of their own, including two by Wilson Ramos, who belted his second home run in the 11th with one out, as that run proved to be the run which kept them ahead for the win.
It was another home run which kept the Nationals (4-1) in front for the win when two batters before Ramos, Ian Desmond sent the ball over the centerfield wall 439 feet to break a 5-5 tie off a pitch by J.J. Hoover, who was charged with the loss, as he falls to 0-2 on the year.
"The one by Desmond definitely was," Hoover said when speaking about the location of his pitches. "It was a slider, and I feel like he knew it was coming anyway. I hung [the pitch], and he got it.
"With Ramos, I feel like I executed the pitch, but he got it and beat me that time. I'd rather get these out of the way now than later in the season."
Baker said the Reds had their chances before Hoover's home runs allowed in the top of the 11th, as he spoke about pitching Hoover over Sean Marshall.
"It was better to save Sean for (Sunday)," Baker said. "Marshall wouldn't have been facing those right-handed hitters up there anyway, but it does put a little pressure on us and on some of the other guys. So we'll have Marshall available (Sunday).
"Like I said earlier, we had a couple times, so we just have to come out with some clutch hits, and (Friday) we hit the ball out of the ballpark, and (Saturday) they hit it out of the ballpark. I guess turnabout is fair play."
As mentioned before, the Reds had numerous chances to earn the win, including their half of the 11th when Joey Votto prolonged the game with a two-out walk. Votto was given second base by the Nationals, and Brandon Phillips brought home the former NL MVP as Phillips doubled to centerfield, scoring Votto.
The rally was stopped by a strikeout by Jay Bruce for the final out of the game, giving the win to Craig Stammen. Stammen pitched two innings of relief, allowing one run in two hits and one walk. Stammen (1-0) struck out four.
Speaking of the chances the Reds had to seal a victory, there were a few.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Reds rallied with the help of the Nationals' pitching and defense.
The rally began with a one-out double to centerfield by Phillips, followed by a single off the bat of Jay Bruce to left field. Todd Frazier batted in Phillips with a single to left field, cutting the Nationals' lead to three.
Cincinnati's deficit dropped to two with Devin Mesoraco reaching first on an infield error, allowing Bruce to score. Both Frazier and Mesoraco advanced on an errant throw to home, but neither was able to score with two outs on the board, and the inning ended on a strikeout.
Cincinnati stranded 11 batters in 11 innings.
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The ninth was just as sweet for the home team, as Cincinnati forced extra innings with Choo hitting a solo home run to open the home half of the inning off Washington closer Rafael Soriano, but it was Votto who also showed late-inning heroics as the former NL MVP tripled off the left field wall, racing around the bases to slide into third safely with one out.
Votto wasn't finished.
The Reds' first baseman scored on a wild pitch, sliding into home, tying the score at five.
WIth all the runs scored in the latter part of the contest, it was Washington who began the scoring parade with early inning runs.
The Nationals opened the scoring with a one-out, two-run home run by Bryce Harper as the 20-year-old sent the first pitch of the at-bat 356 feet over the right field fence for the 2-0 lead in the top of the third. Harper finished with two hits.
Harper this season has three home runs, as he belted two on Opening Day against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park.
In the third, the Reds opened the inning with a lead-off single to centerfield, followed by a line drive past the third baseman by Choo, but the momentum stopped quickly as Choo was forced out at second on a ground ball hit by Chris Heisey. The inning ended with a 4-6-3 double play hit into by Votto.
The Reds' half of the fourth began with Phillips taking two bases on a errant throw from short by Desmond. The error returned to haunt the team from Washington as Frazier doubled to the left-centerfield wall to score Phillips from second.
Cincinnati had their lead-off hitter reach base for the fourth consecutive inning as Choo was hit by a pitch. That was followed by Heisey rocketing the ball to left field on a line drive single.
From there, three consecutive outs occurred with Votto flying out to left field by a diving Harper, followed by Phillips hitting into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning for the second time in the first five innings.
The sixth inning had the second Washington home run, Ramos' first of the game, as the ball sailed 392 feet, bringing home Danny Espinosa, who was walked with two outs.
Jayson Werth (3-for-5, two runs) hit a solo blast to right field (419 feet) to lead off the seventh off Sam Lecure.
Starting the game on the mound for the Reds was Mike Leake, making his first start of the season. The former first-round draft choice pitched six innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits (two home runs) and four walks. Leake finished with four strikeouts.
"Mike threw well, except for the two two-run homers," Baker said. "The balls he got up on guys, especially the second one ... that hurt big time."
Alfredo Simon, Jonathan Broxton, Aroldis Chapman and Hoover each pitched one inning of relief. LeCure and Hoover were the only two relievers to give up hits and runs, while Broxton had one strikeout in the ninth and Chapman struck out all three batters he faced in the 10th, tossing 12 pitches, nine for strikes.
For Washington, Ross Detwiler made his first start of the season. The right-hander also pitched six innings, allowing one run (none earned) on six hits and one walk, adding one strikeout to his totals.
GAME NOTES: Reds pitchers struck out nine batters Saturday for 52 total strikeouts for the season (five games), setting a new franchise record over the first five games, as the former mark was 45 in '90 and '11 … Choo and Votto have reached base in all five games this season … The Reds are 0-2 this season in extra innings … Attendance was 34,762.