• After five hours and fifteen minutes on a Sunday afternoon, the Washington Nationals dropped their sixth straight game and were swept out of Cincinnati when Reds' first baseman Joey Votto pushed a full-count fastball out to left field and into the first row of seats to complete the sweep in a long fourteen-inning affair. Nats' right-hander Collin Balester just missed low with a 2-2 fastball and Votto got just enough of Balester's 95 mph full-count fastball to end it, sending a high fly soaring out to left over a stunned Michael Morse who turned back at the wall and watched it fall. 

Jordan Zimmermann, in what was likely his last outing of 2011, lasted just 4.1 innings, allowing 6 hits, 3 runs and walk while striking out 6. Six pitchers later, Collin Balester put in two innings of work and was back out for a third when he surrendered the Votto HR, which was the Reds' slugger's second of the day. 

Both managers and even Nats' bench coach Pat Corrales were ejected, the teams combined for nine runs and 31 hits, and the Nats committed two errors and once again struggled with runners in scoring position, going 4 for 20 this afternoon and leaving 17 runners on base in the losing effort. 

The Nats now head to Atlanta where they start a three-game series with the Braves on Tuesday night. 

More later...

Nationals now 62-70.