CINCINNATI -- Messy and imperfect but ultimately satisfying. That was often a recipe for many thrilling late-game Reds wins in 2023.

On Saturday vs. the Nationals -- the second game of 2024 -- it was mostly messy and imperfect. And instead of a chef's kiss of a win at the end, Cincinnati merely ended up with a deflated souffle and a 7-6 loss. Closer Alexis Díaz blew the save as he gave up three runs in the top of the ninth inning.

“I lost the zone pretty much," Díaz said via translator Jorge Merlos. "First batter, there were [strikes] that weren’t called. It’s all part of the game. The second batter, I got him out. After that, I lost complete control of the zone.”

Plenty of things happened before Díaz got the ball, however, that led to Washington's win -- namely defensive lapses.

“Probably the best way to sum it up, there were a few plays today -- several plays -- that we typically make and we will make them moving forward," manager David Bell said.

Here was where some of the mistakes happened:

In the top of the fourth inning with one out, Keibert Ruiz lifted a popup to short center field. Playing to pull and stationed closer to second base, shortstop Elly De La Cruz ran back for the ball and appeared close to an over-the-shoulder catch. But as Stuart Fairchild ran in, De La Cruz pulled up and the ball landed for an RBI single and 1-0 Nationals lead.

It was 1-1 in the fifth inning when Hunter Greene issued back-to-back one-out walks and couldn't make a play on Jesse Winker's comebacker. With runners on the corners, Joey Meneses lifted a fly ball to center field. Perhaps thinking there were two outs, Fairchild appeared to casually catch the ball and didn't make a throw as CJ Abrams scored easily.

Reliever Justin Wilson was pitching in the sixth inning when Eddie Rosario popped up to the right side of the infield. Christian Encarnacion-Strand called for it but pulled off at the last second as the swirling wind moved the ball around. Second baseman Santiago Espinal couldn't catch it.

Originally ruled an error, the official scorer changed it to a single. Espinal acknowledged poor communication in the field led to both of the popups dropping for hits.

Cincinnati's defense was already looking to be in a vulnerable situation going into the season, but it is compounded by the loss of the club's two best defensive players.

Missing on the injured list are center fielder TJ Friedl (broken right wrist) and second baseman Matt McLain (left shoulder surgery).

Bell, however, didn't see it that way.

"I haven't thought about it. No, I feel great about the guys we have out there," he said.

Greene threw 100 pitches and allowed four walks over only 4 2/3 innings during his no-decision.

“Obviously, there are times when I didn’t make pitches," Greene said. "Not to throw the team under the bus, but there was some stuff behind me that happened. They were able to come back and hit. A lot of emotion in that game today. But stuff I couldn’t control as well. I think that added a little bit to it.”

Cincinnati's offense proved resilient. Down, 2-1, a three-run bottom of the fifth inning included Luke Maile's two-run home run off of Patrick Corbin. Jonathan India's RBI single gave the Reds a 4-2 lead. The lead was 4-3 in the eighth inning when reliever Lucas Sims gave up Ruiz's game-tying homer.

The Reds scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth on Nick Martini's pinch-hit, two-out double for another lead which almost made him the hero two games in a row.

But Díaz, who converted his first 22 saves in a row during his 2023 All-Star season, couldn't make it hold up. He walked his first batter (Abrams) on four pitches and gave up back-to-back one-out singles. After another four-pitch walk to Joey Gallo loaded the bases, Díaz hit Ruiz with a pitch to force in the tying run. Eddie Rosario's sacrifice fly off Brent Suter brought in the go-ahead run.

But the game shouldn't have come down to the ninth inning in the first place.

“You can’t give away the amount of outs that we gave away today, we know that," Maile said. "It is part of it, for sure. Eventually, you’re going to find yourself in a really tough spot if you keep giving them extra chances. I thought, especially the way Hunter threw the ball today, he deserved better."