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 He was one of three Reds outfielders with at least two hits but
it was third baseman Todd Frazier who crushed a two-run homer in the
top of the 15th to break a 2-2 tie as the Cincinnati Reds beat the
Washington Nationals 4-3 on Monday.
"I had two good at-bats before that," said Frazier, who had three
hits, as did left fielder Chris Heisey. "It's crazy how the game
goes. You're 0-for-3 and you get three more at bats in extra innings
and you go 3-for-3 so it was like a whole new game. I got a ball up,
elevated and tried to drive it."
Second baseman Brandon Phillips led off the 15th with a single and
Frazier launched his eighth homer of the season against lefty
reliever Ross Detwiler (0-2) to center.
Washington manager Matt Williams was asked what happened to
Detwiler, a former starter.
"He gave up a homer," Williams said tersely. "He threw a pitch in
there and guy hit a homer. It happens during the game sometimes. It
was a changeup that just stayed up. He just gave up a homer."
The announced crowd was 24,505, but there were just a few hundred
people in the stands when the game ended just after midnight.
Logan Ondrusek (1-2) got the win for the Reds after he entered the
game with an ERA of 5.56. First baseman Greg Dobbs singled in a run
to make it 4-3 in the 15th before second baseman Danny Espinosa made
the final out on a fly ball to deep right.
"That was just a total grind, every player on the team played some
sort of role in that game, and the defense was phenomenal. It was
really a great game," said Bryan Price, the Reds manager.
The Nationals nearly won in the last of the 12th but a line drive up
the middle by catcher Wilson Ramos was caught by Phillips for the
final out with a runner on third. The same thing happened in the
last of the 14th, as third baseman Anthony Rendon scorched a two-out
liner to center that was caught by a diving Hamilton for the final
out with the winning run on base.
"We had opportunities tonight," Williams said. "Certainly the
Hamilton play off the ball Rendon hit was a great play. We just
didn't come through. All you can do is hit it. They made a couple of
nice plays. You have to understand it is one game. A loss is a loss
and a win is a win (in long games)."
Hamilton also unnerved the Nationals as he ran the bases, but he was
thrown out trying to steal home in the seventh with Stephen
Strasburg on the mound.
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"I decided if he decided to break I can throw it home out of the
windup. He helped me out by taking the bat out of his hand," said
Strasburg. "He is one of the fastest guys in the game. You focus on
the guy in the box and make sure he doesn't get a hit."
Washington pinch-hitter Scott Hairston tied the game at 2-2 with a
sacrifice fly in the ninth against Reds closer Aroldis Chapman.
Washington center fielder Denard Span broke up the Mike Leake
shutout with an RBI single to right to make it 2-1 in the seventh to
chase the Reds' starter. Span, Espinosa and Dobbs each had two hits.
Strasburg allowed two earned runs with four strikeouts in seven
innings. Strasburg and Leake were youth league teammates, and Leake
was once the catcher for Strasburg at a youth tournament in Kansas.
"It would be a nice little competition. I'm sure we'll eventually
meet up," Leake told USA Today in 2010. They finally did Monday, but
they were long gone when the game was decided.
NOTES: Reds 1B Joey Votto missed his fourth game in a row and stayed
back in Cincinnati. Manager Bryan Price said before the game that
the Reds had yet to make a decision on whether Votto will need a
stint on the disabled list. ... The Nationals will call up RHP Blake
Treinen from Triple-A Syracuse to pitch on Thursday in Pittsburgh.
That was the day LHP Gio Gonzalez was to pitch, but Gonzalez went on
the disabled list Sunday due to left shoulder inflammation. "It is
hard to deny him," manager Matt Williams said of Treinen, who
pitched well during a spot start against the Los Angeles Dodgers on
May 7. ... Reds RHP Johnny Cueto (4-2, 1.25), who leads the majors
in ERA, will face Nationals RHP Doug Fister (0-1, 4.76) in the
second game of the series Tuesday. ... Washington began the day with
a 2.07 bullpen ERA, the best mark in the majors.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
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