RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesWASHINGTON − The Cincinnati Reds pitching staff has been asked to dig deep throughout 2026, and it looks like they'll be forced to continue digging all the way through to the end of the season.
The Reds (56-59) returned to the periphery of the National League playoff picture with a 13-6 start coming out of the All-Star break, but the club also announced Aug. 7 starting pitcher Hunter Greene was done for the season due to forthcoming surgery on his right elbow.
A taxing bullpen game against the Washington Nationals was Cincinnati's first test following the Greene announcement, and the Reds ended up hard-luck losers in a 5-3 defeat that snapped their four-game winning streak.
In the first inning with one out, Elly De La Cruz fumbled a would-be double play into center field. The next batter, Daylen Lile, popped a no-doubt three homer to right field.
The Reds took the long road to pulling even with the Nationals via three separate solo home runs. Eugenio Suárez, playing his 1,000th game for the franchise, hit one of them. Matt McLain (10) and Elly De La Cruz (20) following up with solo bombs in the third inning.
De La Cruz's solo homer marked 12 straight solo home runs for the Reds, and that was part of Cincinnati's problem: They out-homered Washington, but the Nationals had more runners aboard when they went deep.
Harry Ford's two-run homer, his second long ball of the season, had Cincinnati chasing again.
The Reds would rally on multiple occasions but All-Star and NL Rookie of the Year frontrunner Sal Stewart twice grounded into inning-ending double plays. That amounted to something of an anomaly for Stewart, who hit into 11 double-plays entering the game.
All the while, the Reds' relief arms kept the club in the game. Starter Chase Petty went 1 2/3 innings, Julian Garcia pitched 2 1/3 innings and allowed the Hall home run, Luis Mey allowed just two hits over 2 2/3 innings and Zach McCambley added a scoreless frame.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds out-homer Nationals but winning streak ends in series opener.
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