Cincinnati Reds edge past Washington Nationals 4-3 – MLB Update
The Cincinnati Reds overcame the Washington Nationals 4-3 after an epic encounter at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio on Friday, August 26.
The home side began by scoring a run in the bottom of the second inning helped by Brandon Phillips’ single to the left which allowed Todd Frazier to reach home-base and complete the run. The Nationals, however, made a strong three-run reply in the third
inning, helped by a Wilson Ramos home-run, which took them to an imposing two-run lead.
Ramos’ three-run home-run for the Nationals cleared the right field by a significant distance, allowing Danny Espinosa and Jonny Gomes to complete their runs and put the pressure back on the Reds. The Nationals have not been impressive on the road this season
and this effort gave them a solid chance of improving their dreary away record.
However, this was the only scoring effort by the Nationals in the entire game. The Reds did well to restrict the opposition from producing hits and the fielders did not commit a single error to compliment the bull-pen.
Dontrelle Willis did well to recover after being smashed for a three-run homer. His pitching was spot-on and his seven innings from the mound went for just three runs amid six hits. He displayed immense arm strength and variety in his spell, throwing 123
pitches and managing 71 strikes.
The Reds, unlike the Nationals, did not let the flow of runs come to a halt. Their line-up regularly produced hits and scored runs in the traditional manner, acquiring bases and then going for the kill. Phillips replicated his second inning effort in the
sixth inning to allow Paul Janish to add the second for the Reds before Jay Bruce’s run, helped by Todd Frazier’s single to centre field, levelled the score at 3-3.
With scores square at the start of the ninth inning, it all came down to an intense fight between closers Francisco Cordero of the Reds and Collin Balester of the Nationals. Cordero threw in a perfect inning to disallow any run to the visitors but Balester
failed to restrict the hits and lost his second game of the season. This was Cordero’s fifth win this year.
The Reds lead the three-game series 1-0.
Tags: