Muddy O-hi-o Top 5:
5. Quick Recap: Today's starters, Johnny Cueto and Gio Gonzalez, matched one another with four scoreless innings each in the second game of three in Great American Ball Park, but while Cueto made it through a scoreless fifth, Cincinnati's Reds got to the Washington Nationals' starter in the bottom of the inning. Chris Heisey hit a ground-rule double to left in the first at bat, stole third and scored on an RBI single to left by Brayan Pena that made it a 1-0 game after five.
The #Reds are on the board! @cuban2727 singles to left to score Heisey from third. #Reds 1, #Nationals 0.
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 26, 2014
Cueto completed seven scoreless on 103 pitches, giving up just four hits and three walks while striking out nine.
The Reds' starter was out after the seventh with Jonathan Broxton taking over on the mound and retired two batters before putting two on, so Cincy skipper went to Aroldis Champman for a four-out save. Chapman got the final out of the eighth and earned his 23rd save of the season with a scoreless ninth.
1-0 Reds final.
PLAAAYYY BALLLL!! @Nationals vs @Reds UNDERWAY on @FOXSports1 FIND FS1: http://t.co/VQkVh3UjBj pic.twitter.com/7YbdOCBSSY
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 26, 2014
4. Bounce back?: Gio Gonzalez took the mound this afternoon in Cincinnati, Ohio's Great American Ballpark coming off a less-than-stellar outing against the Reds' NL Central rivals from Milwaukee in which the Brewers knocked the 28-year-old old lefty out after just 3 ⅓ IP over which he gave up four hits, three walks and three runs in what ended up a 5-4 Nationals' win in Washington, D.C.
The problem for Gonzalez last time out?
"Just command," Nats' skipper Matt Williams told reporters. "Command on everything. Fastball, off the plate, up and off the plate. He just couldn't control that, which didn't allow him to go to his other pitches either. Threw a lot of pitches in the innings that he threw."
Gonzalez threw 88 pitches in his 3+ innings on the mound, with 28 and 33-pitch innings that resulted in his second-shortest outing of the season.
This afternoon in GABP, Gonzalez was taking on the Reds for the fifth time in his seven major league seasons.
In the previous four outings, the southpaw went (2-0) with a 1.00 ERA, seven walks (2.33 BB/9) and 32 Ks (10.67 K/9) in 27 IP over which he held Reds' hitters to a combined .128/.186/.213 line.
His one start in Cincinnati before tonight took place in 2012, when Gonzalez earned one of his twenty-one wins that season with a five-inning effort in which he gave up five hits, four walks and two earned runs in a 7-3 Nats' win.
His second career start in the Reds' home began with a swinging K.
1st: Billy Hamilton chased a breaking ball into the dirt for a swinging strike three in the first at bat of the Reds' first inning. Third baseman Ramon Santiago popped out to third for out no.2. Todd Frazier stepped in with no one on and two out and K'd swinging at a diving 2-2 change to end a 16-pitch first.
2nd: Jay Bruce walked on four pitches to start the Reds' second. Chris Heisey grounded into a force at second, but avoided the double play only to get picked off in the next at bat. Two down. Skip Schumaker K'd looking at a 1-2 change to end a 15-pitch second by Gonzalez, who was up to 31 total after two.
3rd: Brayan Pena dropped a weak roller in front of the plate that Wilson Ramos handled. Zack Cozart K'd swinging through a 1-2 fastball for out no.2. Johnny Cueto K'd looking at an 0-2 fastball. Nine-pitch frame, 40 pitches total after three innings.
4th: Billy Hamilton lined out to left to start the Reds' fourth. Ramon Santiago lined a one-out double to right-center, just out of Denard Span's reach for Cincinnati's first hit. Todd Frazier stepped in with a runner in scoring position and popped to short center for out no.2. Jay Bruce's swinging K on an 0-2 curve ended a 17-pitch frame by Gonzalez, who was up to 57 pitches total after four.
The @Nationals GM Mike Rizzo with @KennyAlbert & @CJNitkowski RIGHT NOW on @FOXSports1! #WSHvsCIN pic.twitter.com/Dz3a4LG8jI
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 26, 2014
5th: Chris Heisey hit a 1-0 fastball to left and into the stands on a bounce for a leadoff, ground-rule double. Skip Schumaker sent a fly out to left that Bryce Harper caught for out no.1. Heisey stole third ahead of a strong throw from Wilson Ramos with Brayan Pena up, and scored on an RBI single through short by the Reds' catcher. 1-0 Cincinnati. Zack Cozart sent a grounder to second in the next at bat, and Kevin Frandsen made a nice play on it and tossed to Ian Desmond at second to start a 4-6-3 inning-ending DP. 11-pitch frame for Gonzalez, 68 total after five innings.
6th: Johnny Cueto reached on an infield single in the bottom of the sixth. Billy Hamilton grounded into a force at second for out no.1 and was caught stealing for no.2. A blooper to second off Ramon Santiago's bat ended an 11-pitch sixth by Gonzalez, who was up to 79 pitches total.
7th: Todd Frazier started up 3-0, and walked on a close 3-2 pitch inside to start the seventh. Jay Bruce stepped in with a runner on and popped up to left on the first pitch he saw. Chris Heisey K'd swinging through an 0-2 change for out no.2 and K no.7. Skip Schumaker worked the count full, but K'd swinging to end the bottom of the seventh. 16-pitch frame. 95 pitches overall.
Fantastic outing (one run allowed, 8 K in 7.0 inn.) from @GioGonzalez47. His ERA against the Reds in 5 career starts: 1.06 (4 ER/34.0 IP).
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 26, 2014
• Gio Gonzalez's Line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 Ks, 95 P, 60 S, 4/3 GO/FO.
3. Nats vs Cueto: 28-year-old Cincinnati Reds' right-hander Johnny Cueto entered the May 20th game against the Washington Nationals in the nation's capital with a 1.25 ERA, 18 walks (2.25 BB/9) and 76 Ks (9.50 K/9) in nine starts and 72 IP on the season to that point.
The Nats scored eight runs, six earned on six hits in just 5 ⅓ IP by Cueto that day, pushing the veteran starter's ERA up to 1.86 when he was done on the mound.
Nationals' manager Matt Williams talked after the Nats' 9-4 win about beating the Reds' starter, who was (4-0) over six starts leading up to that matchup.
"All of his great stats coming in were evident tonight," Williams said. "He lost command a little bit late, but he can reach back for 97 when he wants to and pitches at 90-93 with all of his pitches for strikes. I think we took advantage of a couple of misplays early on and then got to him in the last inning. You just have to stick with it. That's the secret to this game. Cause you never know what can happen, and he's as advertised. He's throwing the ball really well."
Cueto has continued to throw well since then, with a 2.52 ERA, 21 walks (2.65 BB/9) and 66 Ks (8.32 K/9) in 11 starts and 71 ⅓ between that outing and this afternoon's start against the Nationals.
His May outing against the Nats left Cueto (5-3) in nine career starts against Washington with a 4.58 ERA, 14 walks (2.29 BB/9) and 50 Ks (8.18 K/9) in 55 IP, over which Nationals' hitters have put up a combined .274/.333/.392 line against him.
Cueto took the mound this afternoon with a (10-6) record, a 2.18 ERA (2nd lowest in the NL, 3rd in the majors amongst qualified starters), a 3.15 FIP, 39 walks (2.36 BB/9) and 148 Ks (8.96 K/9) in 21 starts and 148 ⅔ IP.
Stop over and get your picture taken with the 2014 HOF class. pic.twitter.com/zZC3EfIKt4
— Reds HOF and Museum (@RedsMuseum) July 26, 2014
Cueto's 22nd start of the 2014 campaign started with a scoreless 16-pitch frame in which he stranded two runners.
Bryce Harper walked in a seven-pitch at bat that started the top of the second, but was doubled up when he went too far around second on a fly to right-center off Wilson Ramos' bat that Jay Bruce tracked down. Kevin Frandsen's groundout in the next at bat gave Cueto two scoreless on 28 pitches.
Anthony Rendon was the third straight strikeout victim in the third as Cueto struck out the side in a 17-pitch frame that left him at 45 pitches overall.
Jayson Werth lined a single to left to start the Nationals' fourth, but was stranded at first three outs later as Cueto completed his fourth scoreless inning of work at 61 pitches after a 16-pitch frame.
Wilson Ramos lined a single to center to start the fifth, but he was stranded at second three outs later as Cueto completed his fifth scoreless inning after 11 pitches at 72 total.
Given a 1-0 lead to work with, Cueto struck out the side in a 15-pitch frame that left him at 87 pitches and 8 Ks after six scoreless.
Bryce Harper took the third walk from Cueto with one down in the Nationals' seventh, but he got thrown out on the basepaths trying to take third on a weak grounder to third base off Wilson Ramos' bat in the next at bat. Kevin Frandsen's fly to right ended a scoreless 16-pitch frame by the Reds' starter, who was up to 103 pitches overall after seven scoreless.
Johnny Cueto's final line: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K, 103 pitches. #Reds #WSHvsCIN
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 26, 2014
• Johnny Cueto's Line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 Ks, 103 P, 67 S, 5/1 GO/FO.
2. #Spanning: With back-to-back four-hit games, 30-year-old Washington Nationals' outfielder Denard Span now has hits in 16 of 18 games in July, putting up a .387/.446/.440 line so far this month and lifting his line on the season to .289/.339/.398 with 29 doubles, five triples, a home run and 18 stolen bases in 20 attempts so far in 2014.
As he did last night in the series opener with the Reds, Span is hitting the ball where it's pitched, making contact, even if it's not always solid, and using his speed to make things happen for the Nationals.
"The key for him and the secret for him is hitting the ball back through the middle," Matt Williams said after Span hit singles to right three times and center once in Great American Ballpark. "We saw that tonight. We've seen that over the last week or so, really is hitting the ball back up the middle and the other way. Just staying on it. Doing well."
With two multi-hit games in the last two nights, Span is now tied with Orioles' outfielder Adam Jones for 4th in the majors in mult-hit games at 36, behind only the Blue Jays' Melky Cabrera, the Tigers' Ian Kinsler and the Giants' Hunter Pence who all have 38 multi-hit games, the Mariners' Robinson Cano, who has 40 and the Astros' Jose Altuve, who leads hitters league-wide with 44 multi-hit games so far this season.
This afternoon in Cincinnati, Span singled over short to start the second game of three for the Nats in GABP, but was forced out at second on a grounder to short off Anthony Rendon's bat.
Span was 1 for 2 on the day after a swinging K in his second AB and 1 for 3 after grounding back to the mound the third time up in the fifth. A fly to left in the eighth left Span 1 for 4.
.@univofdayton alumni meeting @ GABP today? LtoR: @JerryBlevins_13, Coach V, Reds PR maven Rob Butcher & @cstammen35 pic.twitter.com/0P8v7rZU7H
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 26, 2014
Fan of the day?! #WSHvsCIN pic.twitter.com/OQFzKZuQF4
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 26, 2014
1. The Wrap-Up: Jonathan Broxton took over on the mound for the Reds in the top of the eighth and retired the first two Nationals he faced before giving up a two-out walk to Anthony Rendon. Jayson Werth stepped in with a runner on and was hit by a pitch. The Reds went to the pen again for Aroldis Chapman, bringing him on for a four-pitch save, and the closer got a groundout to short from Adam LaRoche for the final out of the Nats' eighth.
Drew Storen took the mound for the Nationals in the bottom of the eighth inning and retired the Reds in order in a 12-pitch frame.
Chapman came back out for the top of the ninth.
Ian Desmond worked the count full and walked to start the inning, but was thrown out trying to steal second. Harper, after falling behind trying to bunt, took a 103 mph 0-2 heater for a called strike three. Wilson Ramos stepped in with two down, fell behind 0-2 and took a 102 mph fastball for a called strike three. Ballgame.
Nationals now 56-45