The third straight defeat to Washington was applied Sunday afternoon, 5-2, Cincinnati’s fourth straight loss that dropped it to six games under .500 (47-53).
The coup de grace was perpetrated by the youngest player on the field, 21-year-old James Wood, playing in his 17th major league game.
Reds relief pitcher Justin Wilson was brought in to protect a 2-2 tie with two out and two on in the eighth inning.
Wood, a lanky 6-foot-7 outfielder, turned on Wilson’s first pitch and whacked it 404 feet into the left field seats, a three-run game-deciding home run.
Wood must have decided to hit one where they couldn’t catch it. He lined one to left field in the fourth inning and Will Benson made a diving, rollining catch. In the sixth inning he crushed one to the wall on which Stuart Fairchild made another of his crash-against-the-wall catches.
Nobody was going to catch his home run.
It was Wilson’s second failuere in two days. On Saturday he also came into the game in the eighth inning, asked to guard a 4-4 tie. But he gave up a leadoff double and a two-out run-scoring single to Jacob Young for a 5-4 Washington lead that stood up.
On Sunday, Lucas Sims started the eighth and retired the first two. But Keibert Ruiz singled to right and Ildemaro dropped a bold, daring two-out bunt and beat it for a hit, putting two on.
Wilson came in and threw one pitch, the pitch on which Wood put on the heavy wood. Right now, when Wilson sticks his head out of the bullpen, line drives erupt. There are some relief pitchers who should not be allowed to play with matches.
And just like what happened Saturday to Reds starter Nick Lodolo, the bullpen wasted an above-and-beyond pitching performance Sunday by Andrew Abbott.
He produced 6 2/3 innings of two-run, six hit pitching and both runs were unearned.
The Reds needed to listen to an old song by Kitty Kallen on their post-game flight to Atlanta for a three games series: “Little Things Mean A Lot.”
While the Nats executed, the Reds executed themselves.
Washington scored two runs in the third when they should have scored none.
The Nationals had runners on third and second with two outs. Reds catcher Austin Wynns had Jacob Young easily picked off third base for the third out. But third baseman Noelvi Marte missed the throw and drew an error, enabling Young to score. Harold Ramirez followed with a run-scoring single, the only two runs off Abbott.
Cincinnati’s two runs came on solo home runs by Marte in the second and Stuart Fairchild in the fifth off Washington starter Jake ‘Curvin’ Irvin.
Marte’s home run was just his second to go with just two walks and 26 strikeouts in 78 plate appearances. He is hitting .176.
Irvin was coming off two horrendous starts against Milwaukee and the New York Mets — 10 innings, 12 runs, 18 hits, six walks, four home runs and two losses.
But on Sunday he had blind faith in his curveball and when Irvin makes his curveball behave he is a tough try.
In seven innings, the Reds collected the two home runs, two doubles and a single. Irvin walked nobody and struck out seven during his 100-pitch day.
After Fairchild’s home run tied it, 2-2, in the fifth, the Reds had only one hit and two base runners in the final four innings.
Another base-running blunder by Elly De La Cruz wiped out a possible run in the sixth. He led off with a double to right center. When Jeimer Candelario grounded to short, De La Cruz was caught trying to take third.
De La Cruz walked with two outs in the eighth and stole second, his MLB-leading 48th theft.
Once again Candelario had a chance to break the 2-2 tie, but he fouled out and finished the three-game series 0 for 12.
Rece Hinds, 1 for 13 with four strikeouts after his record-setting start, sat this one out.
After Wood’s home run, Washington closer Kyle Finnegan pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to record a save in all three games, pushing his total to 28. Reds closer Alexis Diaz never touched the mound over the weekend.
The Nationals have won five of their last six and own an identical record to the reeling Reds (47-53).
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