Washington Nationals drop 9-4 decision to Cincinnati Reds, snapping six-game win streak

Washington's walk-off win last night gave them six straight victories, one shy of their previous season-high of seven wins in a row set between April 10-16.

The current win streak followed a seven-game losing streak, of course, which, as Nationals' skipper Dusty Baker noted after last night's 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds, is just how things go sometimes in baseball.

"Lost seven in a row and turn around and win six in a row. Boy, this is a funny game," Baker said.

Tonight in the nation's capital, in the third game of four with the Reds, the Nationals fell behind early with right-handed starter Joe Ross giving up six hits and four runs in the first two innings as the Nats fell behind early, 4-0.

Washington rallied to tie it at 4-4 in the eighth, but Cincinnati scored five runs in the top of the tenth and went on to a 9-4 win, snapping the Nationals' win streak...

Here's how it happened:

Adam Duvall doubled in two runs in the top of the first, sending a low liner by third after a single by Zack Cozart and a HBP put two runners on in front of Reds' left fielder, who started the night leading all major league left fielders in home runs, RBIs and extra base hits.

Brandon Phillips' two-run single to center made it 3-0 Reds before the Nationals came up to bat for the first time.

Cozart's second hit of the game was an opposite field line drive double to right that hugged the line as it went by the first base bag and stayed fair to bring Reds' catcher Tucker Barnhart around after he singled to start the second and moved up on a sac bunt, 4-0.

Stephen Drew walked to start the Nationals' third, and scored two outs later when Ben Revere tripled to right-center for the Nationals' first hit off Reds' righty Dan Straily. It was Revere's 3rd triple of the year, and the 31st of his career, 4-1.

A one-out single by Zack Cozart (3 for 4 to that point) in the sixth put runners on first and third and ended the night for Joe Ross.

Felipe Rivero took over and got the second out with a run scoring, but Jay Bruce hit a two-run fastball to left-center that drov-- no! Ben Revere made a leading catch at the wall to rob Bruce of extra bases and keep it 4-1 Reds.

• Joe Ross vs the Reds: 5.1 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 Ks, 84 P, 58 S, 9/2 GO/FO.

Revere's three-bagger was the only hit off the Cincy starter through seven innings, as he retired twelve straight Nats after a leadoff walk to Bryce Harper in the fourth, but a leadoff walk to Stephen Drew in the eighth ended that streak and a two-run home run to right by Danny Espinosa ended Straily's outing with the score 4-3 Cincinnati.

Blake Wood took over on the mound for the Reds and issued a four-pitch walk to Anthony Rendon, who promptly stole second. Ben Revere bunted him over to third/gave up an out, and Jayson Werth walked to bring Bryce Harper up.

Harper stepped in with runners on the corners an singled to left, beating the shift and tying it up at 4-4 before the Nats left the bases loaded at the end of the eighth.

Blake Treinen and Sammy Solis combined for a scoreless top of the ninth. It went to extras when Nationals failed to score in the bottom of the inning.

Solis came back out for the tenth and gave up back-to-back singles by Eugenio Suarez and Brandon Phillips.

Billy Hamilton bunted in the next at bat and Ryan Zimmerman, who entered the game in the ninth, misplayed it, allowing the Reds to load the bases with no one out in front of Tucker Barnhart.

Barnhart singled to right to drive in two runs and the Reds scored five total in the tenth and took the third game of four in the nation's capital. 9-4 final.

Nationals now 49-33

NATS NOTES:

• Last night's win left Washington with a 21-16 advantage over Cincinnati in games played in the nation's capital, and the Nationals have won 16 of 31 games between the two teams since 2012, though the Reds hold a 41-36 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams (2005-present).
• Back-to-back losses in the first two games in Washington gave Cincinnati five-straight losses over which they have just a .226 AVG.
• Even with losses in the first two games of the series, the Reds at 7-4 against the Nationals over the last two seasons with wins in 5 of the last 9 games in D.C.
• Washington's 49-32 record going into play tonight was the NL's third-best, behind only the San Francisco Giants (31-51) and Chicago Cubs (51-28).
• Washington's 49 wins in the first 81 games are the second-most in franchise history (2005-present) behind only the '05 Nationals, who were 50-31.
• Nationals' hitters have also hit more home runs than any previous team, with 107 home runs total on the year.
• In today's Nationals-themed "Fun with Arbitrary End Points" segment: Washington's bullpen has a 1.25 ERA, three walks and 39 Ks in 36 IP... since June 19th.
• Washington's hitters, as a group, rank 3rd in the NL in AVG (.273), 3rd in OBP (.343) and second in SLG (.456) since June 1st.
• In a bonus Nationals-themed "Fun with Arbitrary End Points" segment: Nats' catcher Wilson Ramos is 33 for 91 (.363 AVG) with six doubles and six home runs... since June 1st.

Nationals now 49-33