Instant Analysis: Nats 8, Reds 7 (10)

Daylen Lile's 10th-inning homer gave his family even more reason to celebrate as the Nationals stormed back from an early 5-0 deficit

Photo by Billy Sabatini / ALL-PRO REELS

CINCINNATI – If the throng of Daylen Lile fans who made the short drive from Louisville thought their hometown hero couldn’t top Tuesday night’s performance, they were happily mistaken.

Lile one-upped himself tonight with a go-ahead, two-run homer in the top of the 10th, pointing to the Nationals dugout and slamming his bat to the ground before rounding the bases with the decisive blow in this extra-inning victory over the Reds as his friends and family once again roared from the stands.

Lile’s third homer in two nights gave the Nats the lead for good in a game they trailed 5-0 after one inning. And they needed that homer to plate two runs, because PJ Poulin gave up one in the bottom of the 10th and came within inches up giving up two, saved only by the call of fan interference on Spencer Steer’s deep drive to the wall in left-center. Poulin wound up stranding the tying run at third to earn the save and lift his team to 21-22 heading into Thursday’s series finale.

It looked like the Nats were in for a long night when Jake Irvin gave up five runs in the opening frame, the big blow a two-out grand slam by Tyler Stephenson. Irvin would settle down after that but still lasted only three innings, throwing a whopping 86 pitches.

His teammates, though, immediately got him the runs back. The Nationals scored four in the top of the second, headlined by Keibert Ruiz’s two-run homer off Nick Lodolo. Then they plated the tying run in the third after Joey Wiemer drew a bases-loaded walk, resetting the ballgame after the ragged start.

The bullpens really settled things down, with Mitchell Parker tossing three scoreless innings before Richard Lovelady and Orlando Ribalta each posted a zero to get this game into the ninth still tied. Gus Varland put himself in a jam after a leadoff double, the winning run in scoring position with nobody out, before escaping with another patented mound flex to send this game to extras.

HITTING HIGHLIGHT: What more can be said about Lile? The Louisville Slugger has saved his best for this pseudo-hometown series. Sure, he technically did more Tuesday night by blasting two homers. But neither was as meaningful as this one. After connecting on Tony Santillan’s 1-1 slider, Lile immediately looked to his teammates in the dugout and pointed, then slammed his bat to the ground before taking off for a triumphant trip around the bases. In the span of 26 hours, he’s suddenly starting to look like the captivating rookie of 2025 again.

PITCHING LOWLIGHT: This was by no measure a good outing by Irvin. He dug his team into a big hole early. Even when effective after that, he piled up an unhealthy pitch count. He gave his manager no choice but to pull him after three innings. Most disappointing, though, was the way Irvin responded to an overturned strike three call in the bottom of the first. He was halfway to the dugout, thinking he was out of the inning with only one run across. But after Steer successfully challenged that strike three call into a ball three call, Irvin fell apart. He walked Steer. Then he walked Nathaniel Lowe after initially getting ahead in the count, 0-2. Then he grooved a 91-mph fastball to Stephenson and watched a one-run inning devolve into a five-run inning with one big swing. The Nationals lineup made up the deficit, but Irvin gave himself no chance to provide any length in this game after that sequence.

NOTABLE: Five of Mitchell Parker’s nine appearances this season have featured two or more innings of scoreless relief. He hasn’t allowed a hit in three of his last four.

UP NEXT: It’s an early start (12:40 p.m.) for Thursday’s series finale. Foster Griffin takes the mound for the Nats against Reds right-hander Chase Burns. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM