Cincinnati Reds Nearly No-Hit By Nationals in 5-1 Loss

W: Max Scherzer (13-12)

L: Brandon Finnegan (4-2)

In a clash of two dysfunctional teams on Monday, the Washington Nationals emerged victorious against the Cincinnati Reds, who were held hitless by Max Scherzer through seven innings en route to their ninth straight loss.

Tucker Barnhart eventually broke through and delivered a single with one out in the eighth inning, but with the Reds down 4-0, it hardly mattered. It did keep alive the Reds’ streak of not being no-hit in the regular season since 1971, so at least there’s that.

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Brandon Finnegan started on the hill for the Reds and was able to work through the Nationals’ lineup without allowing any runs the first time around, but he wasn’t so lucky the next as Washington broke through in the fourth on a one-out RBI double by Matt den Dekker. Den Dekker was thrown out at third on the play, but Finnegan still wasn’t able to get out of of the inning, issuing a walk to Dan Uggla and a single to Scherzer before Michael Taylor drove in another run with a single.

A solo home run by Wilson Ramos made it 3-0 against Finnegan in the fifth, which would prove to be his final inning. Finnegan allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks in his five innings, striking out three.

Jumbo Diaz relieved Finnegan in the sixth and allowed a home run to den Dekker as the Reds saw their deficit increase to four.

That deficit was insurmountable with the way Scherzer was pitching. He allowed just three walks through the front seven and fanned 10 batters overall. Scherzer finally gave up a hit and a run in the eighth, as Barnhart would eventually come around to score on a single by Skip Schumaker, the only other Red to get a hit off of the former Cy Young award winner.

Just as soon as the Reds closed the gap to three, the Nationals pushed their lead right back to four in the bottom of the eighth. Den Dekker continued his big day by doubling off of Manny Parra to lead things off. He then moved to third on a fly out and scored on a sacrifice fly by Reed Johnson.

Other Notes:

• This is the third different time this season that the Reds have lost nine games in a row. They have yet to lose 10 consecutive games, however.
• After reaching on a walk and a ninth-inning single, Joey Votto extended his on-base streak to 45 games, tying Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday for the longest stretch in baseball this season.
• Burke Badenhop also pitched against the Nationals, working around a leadoff double to throw a scoreless seventh inning.

Up Next: The Reds will begin their final home series of the year on Tuesday when they take on the Chicago Cubs at 7:10 p.m. ET. Josh Smith will be on the bump for the Reds, facing off against veteran Dan Haren.

Next: A look at the Reds' impending free agents