Reds beat Nationals 7-2 behind Cueto's pitching, hitting
The Cincinnati Reds stayed within half a game of the St. Louis Cardinals Monday night by beating the Washington Nationals 7-2. The Reds and Nationals had been struggling as of late: the Nationals were shut out in their previous two games, while the Reds had been shut out in three of their last five, losing all of those games by 1-0 margins. Cincinnati improved to 52-42 on the season and are right behind the Cardinals in the NL Central, while the Nationals dropped to 40-53, setting them back to 14.5 games behind Atlanta in the NL East.
The second inning is where the magic happened for the Reds. J.D. Martin was wild in that inning, walking three batters which lead to four runs, two off the bat of Drew Stubbs and another two off of starting Reds' pitcher Johnny Cueto.
"Cueto knocked in a couple of runs. That's unfortunate," Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said. "Right now, when you give up those runs, we're not swinging the bats and it's tough to come back from."
The Reds knew it was only a matter of time before their bats livened up once more.
"Shutouts aren't a big deal with this team," said Jonny Gomes, who added to the effort with a solo shot of his own. "We're real good at bouncing back. That's a real good characteristic of this team. It does a good job of pushing the wall down."
Martin lasted five and a third innings, but not before allowing six earned runs.
"I didn't feel I had much of anything today," he said.
Washington's woes worsen
The Nationals looked to be much improved from last year at the beginning of the season, but have gone back to their typical futile ways. They've lost five of seven and are in the basement of one of baseball's toughest divisions. Rumors of trades could be worrying players, leading to their minds going elsewhere during games, but outfielder Willie Harris does not see it that way.
"There's a lot of rumors swirling around about guys getting traded," he said. "We can't worry about that. We've got to worry about our opponent."
The Nationals have only been outscored by a margin of 27-21 in their last seven games, with lopsided numbers in most games. Their only two wins have been behind their phenom rookie pitcher Stephen Strasburg. The majority of their runs came in three games, where they scored 17 of their runs, averaging just one runs a game in the four others.
The Nationals were robbed of at least one run when an infield single hit the second base umpire, declaring the play dead. Adam Zimmerman was rounding third and clear home when he was called back due to the interference. The bases were then left loaded as Willie Harris flied out.
Cueno shines
Cueno had another successful outing, bringing his record to 9-2 on the season. Despite a 42-minute rain delay due to a thunderstorm, Cueno came back and pitched well, allowing just two runs in the third inning. He pitched just six innings, no doubt worrying as he left the game as the Reds' bullpen have blow a league-leading five wins for him this season. He's been helping himself more and more as the season progresses however, and in his last six games, he's only allowed five runs.
"He's figuring things out," manager Dusty Baker said. "He's figuring out how to win without his best stuff, and when he does have his best stuff, he'll pitch until the wheels fall off and then figure out how to put them back on."
Cueno could rest easily all game: the relief pitchers allowed three walks, but no hits or runs. The Nationals finished with only four hits.
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