3 key moments from the Reds' series-finale loss to the Nats

WASHINGTON -- Avoiding a sweep made Sunday’s series finale a little more important for the Reds to set a positive tone moving forward into the second half of the season. But then again, every game is significant, according to manager David Bell.

The Reds came up just short of avoiding a third straight loss following the 5-2 defeat to Washington at Nationals Park. Even so, they are not focused on the results of the first three games back from the All-Star Game.

“[We have to] pick ourselves up with so much to play for and so much time ahead of us, that’s what we’re focused on now,” said Bell. “You learn you have to find ways to improve, especially when things aren’t going well, or when they are going well.”

It was not the beginning of the second half they wanted, but the clubhouse has no doubt they can still make a push to the playoffs, and there were glimpses of an offense that could be a threat. Here are three important moments from the series finale:

Marte, Fairchild provide offensive jolt

While there has been a spark missing for the Reds after the All-Star break, their bats have not been completely silenced. In the third inning, Noelvi Marte took a 1-1 81.9 mph curveball from Nationals starter Jake Irvin and sent a homer 413 feet to the stands in left-center field to get the Reds on the board first.

After the Nationals took the lead back by scoring two runs in the third, the Reds added on.

Outfielder Stuart Fairchild launched his sixth homer of the year at 103.3 mph off the bat in the fourth inning, his first since being reactivated from the 10-day injured list on Friday after sustaining a spine disc injury. The dinger tied the game at 2, keeping Cincinnati in the game until the eighth.

“[Irvin] gave me a couple of fastballs in the heart of the plate that were good to hit. So I put a good swing on one and hit that out,” Fairchild said. “It was a good feeling to tie it up there to help the team.”

De La Cruz extends hit streak to nine

The two homers were just a taste of how dangerous the Reds’ offense is. There has been one consistent piece in that threatening lineup before the break for the Midsummer Classic. All-Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz swatted a double in the sixth inning to extend his hit streak to nine games.

“That’s everything in this game, being consistent, because you’re not going to get it done every single time at the plate,” said Bell. “He’s found a way to become more and more consistent, and he’s only going to improve in that area.”

Cincinnati may not have gotten many hits off Irvin, but four out of their five hits went for extra bases.

Abbott’s strong day on the mound

Andrew Abbott was tasked with keeping the Nationals from scoring runs and helping the offense stay in the game. The southpaw did just that, limiting the Nationals to six hits and two unearned runs over 6 2/3 innings. The key for Abbott was to keep the opposing lineup off-balance.

“I was able to do that in big moments and when it counted,” he said. “Decent location on their better hitters, and I was able to keep traffic off the bases so they didn’t have big innings. They put some good balls in play, a couple of line drives, hard-hit balls off me, but defense in the right position helps keep me in the game for longer.”

Abbott has surrendered one or zero runs in three of his last four starts and has gone 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA (6 ER in 23 1/3 innings) over that span.

“There's no questioning anything in the clubhouse,” Abbott said. “We come ready to play, sometimes you get it done, sometimes you don’t. You just chalk it up and get ready for the next one.”