Instant Analysis: Nats 10, Reds 4
The Nationals launched six homers (two a piece by Luis García Jr. and Daylen Lile) to cruise to victory in Cincinnati
CINCINNATI – There are few better places to find your home run stroke than Great American Ball Park, where the fences are short and the ball flies on warm nights. And the Nationals took full advantage of that tonight. With six total home runs – two a piece from Luis García Jr. and Daylen Lile – the Nats enjoyed a big night at the plate and enjoyed a comfortable win over the Reds to begin this three-game series.
James Wood started the barrage with a prototypical, opposite-field blast in the top of the third off Brady Singer. García immediately followed with a traditional shot pulled to right field to continue his recent surge. Lile got into the act in the fourth, taking Singer deep to right. García and Lile then doubled up in the fifth against the Cincinnati bullpen, becoming only the sixth teammates in club history to each hit two homers in a game. Brady House added a two-run homer in the eighth for good measure.
That was more than enough run support for the Nationals pitching staff, which only got 3 1/3 innings out of Miles Mikolas but got 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief from Brad Lord while his teammates were blasting the ball out of the park.
HITTING HIGHLIGHT: How do you decide between two guys who each hit two homers? You can’t, so we’ll just highlight both of them. García has been red-hot since returning from his minor wrist sprain, going 8-for-14 with two homers, a double and a triple. You can see how much better he feels at the plate after five days off, hitting the ball with far more authority. Speaking of hitting the ball with authority … Lile is finally seeing positive results after a hard-luck opening month. He’s now 9 for his last 25 with three doubles and two homers, rediscovering the power stroke that made the second half of his rookie season so captivating. It felt like it was only a matter of time with him. It’s nice to see it finally come together.
PITCHING HIGHLIGHT: For the first time this season, Mikolas got his ERA below 7.00. He couldn’t even keep it there for a full inning. Not that the veteran right-hander pitched poorly in this game. He cruised through his first three innings on 47 pitches, allowing only two batters to reach (one of them on a strikeout-passed ball when Keibert Ruiz whiffed at a pitch over the plate). But he quickly lost it in the fourth inning, allowing four of the five batters he faced to reach base via two singles and two walks. Blake Butera decided not to press his luck and summoned Lord with the bases loaded and one out. Mikolas wound up with two runs (one earned) over 3 1/3 innings, during which he threw a whopping 71 pitches. It wasn’t a meltdown, but it did halt the positive progress he’d made over his previous four outings.
NOTABLE: This was the fifth time the Nationals have hit at least five homers in a game at Great American Ball Park, where they’ve played 68 times in club history. They’ve done it only 11 times in 1,426 games all-time at Nationals Park.
UP NEXT: Wednesday’s 6:40 p.m. game will see Jake Irvin take the mound against Cincinnati left-hander Nick Lodolo. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM
Bang zoom go the Nats! That was fun!!
Always nice to win a game that Mikolas starts. He did okay for 3 innings keeping the ball down and not walking anyone. Not great but baby steps in a ballpark that might of been trouble for him. Lile looked good and Gracia is en fuego!