Time: 2:21 (!)
Attendance: 31,411
Two wins in a row! (I made sure to wear the same shirt I had
on last time, and we switched seats prior to first pitch in search of
additional good karma.) The Nats ended their MLB-record streak of 43 straight
games without a starting pitcher being credited with a win, and Patrick Corbin
avoided his 18th loss of the season.
Once again, the visitors jumped out to an early lead. Leadoff
hitter Jonathan India singled on the second pitch of the game, moved up to
third when Alejo Lopez singled and RF Joey Meneses couldn’t field the ball
cleanly, and scored on a force out by Kyle Farmer. Cincinnati doubled their
lead in the second on a leadoff homer by Stuart Fairchild. (If some of these
names don’t sound familiar, you have plenty of company.)
The Nationals did very little with Reds starter Nick Lodolo
in the first three innings, but got quite a bit of help from him in the 4th.
He hit two consecutive batters following a leadoff double by César Hernández,
and then walked Nelson Cruz to force in a run. The next two batters were
retired without further damage, but Riley Adams picked them up with a single to
center; Meneses scored to tie the score, but Luke Voit was thrown out at the
plate to end the inning. Ildemaro Vargas, however, homered to lead off the
bottom of the 5th to give the Nats a one-run lead.
Corbin settled down nicely after Fairchild’s blast,
finishing the 6th with 82 pitches total. Davey opted to go with his
top bullpen arms to finish the game, with Harvey, Edwards Jr., and Finnegan
each putting up a scoreless inning to seal the victory.
The drives down and black were blessedly event-free. Four of
us met for lunch at Canal Park on M Street SE. I had a chicken teriyaki bowl
from Kihn’s Sushi, while everyone
else ordered from Wiseguy Pizza.
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