Cincinnati Reds top Nationals in Dusty Baker’s return to Queen City

Dusty Baker got a rude greeting from his former team, as the Cincinnati Reds were victorious in their first game against their ex-manager.

After winning their first series in more than a month, the Reds stayed hot on Friday night, winning their third straight game by a 7-2 score over the Washington Nationals.

Offense keeps rolling

The Reds may have left Coors Field, but they sure didn’t play like it. After scoring 33 runs in their four-game series in Colorado, the Reds added seven more on Friday, giving them an average of eight over their last five games. They also racked up 12 more hits, including multi-hit efforts from Zack Cozart — his third such game in a row — Brandon Phillips, Adam Duvall and Eugenio Suarez. The club also got three more home runs, one apiece from Cozart, Duvall and Suarez, giving them 15 long balls in the last five games.

Cozart, Suarez, Duvall stay hot

The offense as a whole is running like a well-oiled machine right now, but Cozart, Duvall and Suarez in particular have been on fire.

Over his last five games, Cozart now has 10 hits, including two doubles and three home runs, out of the leadoff spot. His average is back over .300, with his slash line sitting at .310/.337/.540.

Not to be outdone, Suarez also continued raking, as he has since breaking his 0-for-29 slump. After a 3-for-4 game on Friday, the third baseman is now 9-for-his-last-19 with four home runs, including three in the last two games.

Finally, Duvall’s home run against Washington marked his eighth in the last 12 games and gives him 15 for the season, tied for sixth in the majors.

Another strong start

Aside from the offensive outbursts, the common denominator during the Reds’ winning streak has been strong starting pitching. Brandon Finnegan was the latest to turn in a solid outing, tossing 6 1/3 innings and allowing only one run — a solo home run by Jayson Werth — and five hits. He did walk three while only striking out two, but he was able to keep a potent Nationals lineup from doing much damage.

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Notes:

• Reds relievers — Blake Wood and J.C. Ramirez — struck out seven batters in just 2 2/3 innings.
• Joey Votto hit a double in the first inning, giving him at least one hit in nine of his last 10 games. He has five doubles in that span, more than doubling his season total to nine.
• The only Red not to get a hit on Friday night was Jay Bruce, who went 0-for-4.
• One of the bright young prospects in baseball, Trea Turner, gave the Reds fits in his 2016 MLB debut, going 3-for-3 with a double and a walk.