Suarez’s homer breaks deadlock, Reds beat Nationals 3-2 | Cincinnati Reds

WASHINGTON (AP) Eugenio Suarez could only watch and hope as the baseball headed toward the left-field foul pole.

“For me, there’s some inconsistency there on the mound”, the right-hander said. A hustling den Dekker took advantage of the wild pitch and just beat the throw home with a hard slide.

One day after being swept by the surging Milwaukee Brewers, the Cincinnati Reds face an even hotter team Monday when they visit the Washington Nationals for the start of a three-game series.

“That was just A-grade stuff”, Reds manager Bryan Price said. “That was a big one there”.

Manny Parra (1-1) worked the seventh and Aroldis Chapman got three outs for his 17th save.

“People out there, fans know who I am and they know what I do”, Cueto said.

Nationals: CF Denard Span (back spasms) and INF Yunel Escobar (hamstring strain) were both held out of the game. He entered with a 1.82 ERA and left at 2.12.

Cincinnati used an RBI single by Votto and a sacrifice fly by Todd Frazier to chase Scherzer in the fifth. He had one-hopped a double in left center earlier, and in the bottom of the sixth he mashed his ninth homer of the season to right to tie it back up. After Brandon Phillips opened the game with a single, Votto hit an RBI double and scored on a triple by Bruce. The Reds right-hander went the distance, tossing a 2-hit shutout, striking out 11 along the way and completely baffling the Nationals’ injury-plagued lineup. The Cubs won the opener 7-4. He took the ball from Scherzer, who walked into the Nationals’ dugout with his head down.

All of Chicago’s runs were unearned.

Josh Donaldson and Chris Colabello homered for Toronto. So far, the Nationals only hit was the Harper single in the first inning. He went to second when the ball got by second baseman Dan Uggla.

Update IV: Votto having the night, adding a run-scoring single in the fifth. After a walk by right fielder Bryce Harper loaded the bases, DeSclafani bounced a curveball into the dirt and off Pena’s chest in front of home plate.

Dozier lined a 2-1 pitch from Tommy Hunter (2-2) into the seats in left for his 17th homer.

With 11 strikeouts over nine scoreless innings, the All-Star Game Final Vote candidate made his case.

Orlando hit a 1-0 pitch off Brad Boxberger (4-5), who had 20 saves and was selected on Monday to the All-Star Game.

Such was the case for the ace of the Washington Nationals against the Cincinnati Reds in a 5-0 loss Tuesday night. But there it was tonight, a legitimately poor outing by the right-hander, who was tagged for five runs and seven hits in only 4 2/3 innings.

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) reacts as…

Preston Tucker had a career-high four hits for Houston, including a solo homer in the fourth.

After placing Stephen Strasburg on the disabled list for the second time this year, should the Nationals be hesitant to offer him a long-term deal? It was his 15th homer of the season, and the Reds extended their lead 3-0.

Alvarez’s second career game-ending hit also beat his father-in-law, Padres interim manager Pat Murphy. The rookie earned the victory against the Nationals on May 29, when he allowed two runs over six frames in a 5-2 win.