Final
Reds-Nationals Preview
Jun 3, 2010 - 11:42 PM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS WriterCincinnati (31-23) at Washington (26-28), 7:05 p.m. EDT
While the Cincinnati Reds would prefer to be in sole possession of first place in the NL Central, they're satisfied with their spot in the standings. The slumping Washington Nationals wish they were as content.
The Reds continue their road trip Friday when they open a three-game series against the error-plagued Nationals.
Despite dropping two of three to St. Louis, including Wednesday's 4-1 loss, Cincinnati (31-23) left Busch Stadium in a first-place tie with the Cardinals.
"We certainly wanted two out of three or all of them," Reds manager Dusty Baker told the team's official website. "We have to be satisfied getting out of here with one the way things turned out."
It didn't turn out well for Cincinnati the last time it was in first place this late in the season. After winning eight straight to improve to 36-24 on June 8, 2006, the Reds lost 20 of 29 and eventually finished third.
If Cincinnati can continue hitting the ball at its current pace, however, the club has a chance at its first winning season in a decade and first playoff appearance in 15 years. The Reds are among the NL leaders in batting (.275), runs per game (5.1) and homers (70).
"Guys have been swinging the bats like crazy," said right-hander Aaron Harang. "It makes it easier for the starters. It helps us relax."
In Saturday's 12-2 victory over Houston, Harang (4-5, 5.48 ERA) yielded a season-low one run and four hits over seven innings. The Reds backed him with a season-best six homers - two apiece from Jay Bruce and Ramon Hernandez.
Looking to win three consecutive starts for the first time since Sept. 19-29, 2006, Harang faces a Nationals team that's won one series in the last three weeks.
Since trailing Philadelphia for the NL East lead by one game May 13, Washington (26-29) has dropped 14 of 20. While manager Jim Riggleman said following Wednesday's 6-4 loss at Houston that errors can be misleading, the team's NL-worst 50 are hard to ignore.
The Nationals committed three errors for the second straight game Wednesday, all by Cristian Guzman. Playing right field as a defensive replacement, Guzman botched a sinking line drive from Lance Berkman that would have ended the game. Two pitches later, Carlos Lee hit a walk-off two-run homer against Matt Capps.
"It's just the nature of how things are going for us ... but we'll get out of it," Riggleman said following the Nationals' 3-7 trip.
Right-hander Livan Hernandez (4-3, 2.15) will try to help Washington get back on track as he goes for his first win in exactly a month. Since opening 4-1 with a 0.99 ERA, Hernandez is 0-2 with a 3.52 ERA.
He is 0-5 with a 6.51 ERA in his last nine outings versus Cincinnati.
Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn, who played for Cincinnati from 2001-08, is batting .222 in 10 games against his former team. He is 0 for 8 lifetime versus Harang.
Reds first baseman Joey Votto is batting .333 with a homer and nine RBIs in 11 lifetime games against Washington. He missed the Reds' last visit to the nation's capital June 9-11 due to stress-related issues.
Cincinnati lost six straight in Washington prior to taking two of three in that series.
- Nationals 4, Reds 2 - FINAL
CINCINNATI ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
O Cabrera ss 5 1 1 0 0 1 2 .265
B Phillips 2b 5 0 3 1 0 0 0 .288
J Votto 1b 5 0 1 0 0 2 4 .317
S Rolen 3b 4 0 1 0 1 1 3 .288
J Bruce rf 3 0 1 0 1 1 3 .267
J Gomes lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .301
D Stubbs
Jun 4 10:38 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY WILLIE HARRIS SCORED ROGER BERNADINA
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, I DESMOND ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CINCINNATI 2
WASHINGTON 4 BOTTOM,7TH
DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: C GUZMAN (.311, 1-FOR-4, RBI)
Reds 2, Nationals 4 Bot 7, 0 OutsJun 4 10:03 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY IAN DESMOND SCORED JOSH WILLINGHAM
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, I DESMOND ON FIRST, R BERNADINA ON SECOND, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CINCINNATI 2
WASHINGTON 3 BOTTOM,7TH
DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: W NIEVES (.195, 0-FOR-3)
Reds 2, Nationals 3 Bot 7, 0 OutsJun 4 9:58 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY BRANDON PHILLIPS SCORED ORLANDO CABRERA
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, B PHILLIPS ON FIRST, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CINCINNATI 2
WASHINGTON 2 TOP,5TH
DUE UP FOR CINCINNATI: J VOTTO (.317, 0-FOR-2)
Reds 2, Nationals 2 Top 5, 0 OutsJun 4 8:50 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY ROGER BERNADINA SCORED RYAN ZIMMERMAN
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R BERNADINA ON FIRST, A DUNN ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CINCINNATI 1
WASHINGTON 2 BOTTOM,3RD
DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: I DESMOND (.267, 1-FOR-1)
Reds 1, Nationals 2 Bot 3, 0 OutsJun 4 8:20 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY CRISTIAN GUZMAN SCORED IAN DESMOND
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, C GUZMAN ON FIRST, L HERNANDEZ ON THIRD, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CINCINNATI 1
WASHINGTON 1 BOTTOM,2ND
DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: N MORGAN (.262, 1-FOR-1)
Reds 1, Nationals 1 Bot 2, 0 OutsJun 4 7:59 PM - NL
AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY RAMON HERNANDEZ SCORED DREW STUBBS
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R HERNANDEZ ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CINCINNATI 1
WASHINGTON 0 TOP,2ND
DUE UP FOR CINCINNATI: A HARANG (.217, 0 HR, 2 RBI)
Reds 1, Nationals 0 Top 2, 0 OutsJun 4 7:40 PM
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