Washington Nationals drop fourth straight with 8-1 loss to Cincinnati Reds in GABP…

The Nationals ended their scoreless innings streak, but the losing streak is now up to four in a row…

Adon vs the Reds:

Joan Adon pounded his glove repeatedly, pumped his fist, and let out a scream after he’d picked up back-to-back Ks with runners in scoring position in his sixth and final inning on the mound in D.C. in the nightcap of last Saturday’s twin bill with the Rockies in Nationals Park.

“It’s one of those things you don’t control. It’s just emotions take over,” Adon explained, via interpreter Octavio Martinez, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman following the six-inning outing in which just two unearned runs scored with him on the mound. “It just happens. It’s something you don’t have control over.”

The outing, in which he received no decision, left Adon winless in seven starts, with a 6.19 ERA, a 4.74 FIP, 20 walks, 25 Ks, and a .270/.388/.413 line against in 32 IP over that stretch.

Tonight in Great American Ball Park, Adon fell behind early, giving up a one-out single by Brandon Drury, a walk to Tommy Pham, and a three-run home run by Joey Votto, who hit one out to right, 390 feet into the seats on a 97 MPH, 2-2 fastball up and in that didn’t get in enough. Votto’s 3rd of 2022 made it 3-0 Reds early.

Nick Senzel singled and Pham walked in front of Votto with one out in the third, but Adon walked him this time, then got an inning-ending 6-4-3 DP out of Kyle Farmer. Still 3-0 Reds.

Adon worked around a throwing error by Luis García, with help from catcher Keibert Ruiz, who caught Albert Almora, Jr. trying to steal second after he’d reached on the E:6, and an out off Aramis Garcia’s bat got the 23-year-old starter through four, on 72 pitches.

Matt Reynolds hit a leadoff single off Adon in the Reds’ half of the fifth, and the Nats’ starter walked Senzel to put two on with no one out, with his 4th walk of the outing, but he struck out Drury, and popped up Pham, and manager Davey Martinez left him in to face Votto and he retired him on a grounder to first on his 90th pitch.

Adon returned to the mound in the sixth, but was lifted after giving up a single by Kyle Farmer, who stole second base as Mike Moustakas struck out. The starter was up to 98 pitches at that point, and his manager decided that was enough…

Joan Adon’s Line: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 Ks, 1 HR, 98 P, 54 S, 5/2 GO/FO.

Ashcraft vs Nationals:

A 2019 6th Round pick by the Reds, Graham Ashcraft, 24, debuted for Cincinnati with a 4 ¹⁄_3-inning outing against the Toronto Blue Jays in which he gave up four hits, two walks, and a pair of runs, then he held the San Francisco Giants scoreless over 6 ¹⁄₃ in start No. 2, giving up four hits and two walks but nothing else. He struck out just one batter in that outing (and three in his debut) but told reporters afterwards that he was not particularly concerned with strikeout totals.

“If I can go out there and just get ground balls all the time instead of punching tickets, I’ll take that all the time,” Ashcraft said, as quoted in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

”Strikeouts are great and everything, but so is having a low pitch count and going longer in the game.”

The Reds’ starter extended the Nationals’ scoreless innings streak to 25 with four scoreless to start tonight’s game, as the Reds jumped out to a 3-0 lead early, and Ashcraft was up to just 48 pitches after retiring the side in a 14-pitch fourth.

Yadiel Hernández walked and Maikel Franco singled over short in the top of the fifth, to get Luis García up with a runner in scoring position, but García grounded out, Victor Robles K’d looking, and the Nationals’ scoreless innings streak was up to 26.

An eight-pitch, 1-2-3 sixth had Ashcraft at 78 pitches in six scoreless, and the Nationals up to 27-straight innings without a run.

Josh Bell mercifully ended the scoreless innings streak with a one-out, opposite field home run to left field off Ashcraft in the top of the seventh, hitting one 356 feet for his 5th of ‘22. Still 3-1 Reds after six and a half…

Graham Ashcraft’s Line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 Ks, 1 HR, 92 P, 65 S, 14/1 GO/FO.

Bullpen Action:

Erasmo Ramírez inherited a runner in scoring position at second from Joan Adon, but the right-handed reliever stranded him, and kept it a 3-0 game after six in Cincinnati, but the veteran hurler gave up a leadoff home run to right by Matt Reynolds in the bottom of the seventh, half-an-inning after Josh Bell homered to get the Nats on the board, 4-1.

Singles by Nick Senzel and Brandon Drury followed the blast, and Senzel took third on the hit by Drury, before scoring on a sac fly by Tommy Pham, 5-1.

Josh Rogers took over for Ramírez with a runner on first and one out in the Reds’ seventh, and walked Joey Votto in front of Kyle Farmer, who hit a middle-middle 2-1 fastball out to center field in GABP for a three-run blast and an 8-1 lead.

Reds’ reliever Art Warren retired the Nationals in order in the top of the eighth.

Paolo Espino tossed a scoreless bottom of the eighth to keep it a …. seven-run game, but the Nationals came up empty in the top of the ninth.

Nationals now 18-35