WASHINGTON — Nick Senzel made a leaping catch against the right-field wall to save a run in the ninth inning, then hit a two=run homer leading off the 10th to lift the Cincinnati Reds over the Nationals 5-4 Thursday for their first series sweep at Washington since 2006.
Cincinnati (49-39) stretched its winning streak to five with the four-game sweep that maintained a two-game lead over the second-place Brewers in the NL Central heading into a weekend series at Milwaukee. The Reds have won 20 of their last 24 games overall and 19 of their last 22 on the road, moving 10 games over .500 for the first time since Aug. 24, 2021. They also host the Brewers in a three-game series the weekend after the All-Star break.
Senzel made a leaping catch on CJ Abrams with the sun in his eyes for the final out of the ninth after Riley Adams’ two-out double off Tony Santillan (1-0), who worked a scoreless inning in his first Reds appearance since June 13, 2022.
With Tyler Stephenson on second as the automatic runner, Senzel gave Cincinnati a 5-3 lead when homered on a first-pitch fastball from Hunter Harvey (3-4).
Alexis Díaz earned his 25th save in 26 chances, allowing an RBI single to Lane Thomas before retiring Keilbert Ruiz on a game-ending flyout with runners on second and third.
Playing on the one-month anniversary of his major league debut, Elly De La Cruz had two hits and two RBIs and finished the series 10 for 18 with a homer and four RBIs. The Reds are 22-6 since bringing up the 21-year-old, who is hitting .325 with four homers, 15 RBIs, 12 stolen bases and a .905 OPS.
Last-place Washington (34-53) fell to an NL-worst 13-31 at home and has lost 14 of 15 at Nationals Park since June 3.
Cincinnati Reds’ Nick Senzel, right, crosses home plate past Washington Nationals catcher Riley Adams after hitting a two-run home run in the 10th inning of a baseball game, Thursday, July 6, 2023, in Washington. Cincinnati won 5-4. Credit: AP/Patrick Semansky
Washington starter MacKenzie Gore…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply