Reds' early momentum fizzles in loss to Nats

WASHINGTON -- Following their attempt to rally late in Friday’s loss to the Nationals, the Reds’ energy bled into the first half of Saturday’s night game but did not last long.

Cincinnati scored four runs in the first three innings to take an early lead in an eventual 5-4 loss to Washington at Nationals Park on Saturday. The club gave up two runs late in the game, and the offense was unsuccessful in its attempt to rally in a similar fashion to Friday.

“It was a great start to the game. We walked, those runners scored, we had big at-bats,” said manager David Bell. “Their bullpen was able to shut us down, so we have to keep taking a closer look and finding ways to keep adding on. If we are able to do that, obviously, it would’ve been a different outcome.”

Second baseman Jonathan India and shortstop Elly De La Cruz drew back-to-back walks to open the game. After Jeimer Candelario struck out, Spencer Steer made sure to capitalize on the free passes, hitting an RBI single to score India and put the Reds on the board first. Following a third walk by Tyler Stephenson, De La Cruz found himself scoring as well on Austin Slater’s sacrifice fly.

Cincinnati starter Nick Lodolo surrendered two runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the score, but the Reds did not give up easily. In the second inning, India drew a two-out walk before De La Cruz swatted an RBI double and found himself at third on a fielding error by Nats left fielder James Wood.

The game was trending in a favorable direction for the Reds following Tyler Stephenson’s home run to left field that extended the club’s lead to 4-2 in the third inning.

After the dinger, though, the offense went quiet while Lodolo did his part to keep the Nationals silent for as long as he could.

The southpaw went deep into the game -- something the Reds were looking for. He dealt a season-high 104 pitches (70 strikes) over 6 1/3 frames, striking out eight batters and allowing four runs. It was his longest start since June 18, when he pitched seven innings at Pittsburgh.

“It was an important start for Nick just to get up over 100 pitches,” Bell said. “He’s still kind of on his way back from the injuries, and [it] definitely could have been a different outcome. I thought he was very good. … I think the biggest steps were just getting him up over 100 pitches into the seventh inning, and I think Nick needed to get to that step to be able to do that the rest of the year for us.”

After Lodolo was pulled in the seventh following a Jacob Young single and a CJ Abrams flyout, the Nationals were able to rally behind Young, who scored later that inning and delivered the game-winning hit in the eighth inning.

The Reds had an opportunity with the heart of their order coming up in the ninth and the club trailing by one run, but their bats never came to life.

“It hurts, especially … to get the starter out of the game early on and then to get into their bullpen and have the lead early,” said Stephenson. “Then for them to just continue to put some at-bats together and stay around. It's tough. I think that's a game that we all look at and say that we probably should have won.”

The Reds dropped to four games out of the final National League Wild Card spot.

Losing the first two games -- and the first series -- of the second half is not something that the Reds would have chosen, but all they can do now is focus on winning the final game of the set and gaining back momentum as they continue moving forward on an important 10-day, nine-game road trip.

“We needed that one, and you know, [we’ll be] thinking about it today or whatever, but tomorrow we got another one to show up and do what we can and just win that game,” Lodolo said.