Daylen Lile may not be a true hometown hero in Cincinnati, but he was born nearby in Louisville. With his family and friends in the building, Lile has put on a show. In game one of the series, Lile hit two homers and tonight he hit a go-ahead shot in top of the 10th that won the game for the Nats.
Seeing Lile’s dad running down the stairs at Great American Ball Park yelling “that is my son” was an awesome moment to see. In both of the games, there has been a little Lile cheering section, and they have been going crazy all series so far. Their boy has hit three no-doubt homers, and the one tonight was the clutchest one of them all.
In the bottom of the first, this did not seem like a game where there would be a lot of cheering for Nats fans. Jake Irvin got himself into trouble with erratic control, and was unable to stop the bleeding. He got close when it appeared that he struck out Spencer Steer to end the inning. However, Steer challenged the pitch and won. Irvin eventually walked Steer. Two batters later, Tyler Stephenson hit a grand slam.
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It looked like the game was over before it started, but that was not the case with this electric Nats offense. They started their barrage right away. CJ Abrams started the second with a double and then Jacob Young got a hit of his own. The pressure was immediately back on Reds starter Nick Lodolo.
After a Daylen Lile sac fly and a Joey Wiemer double, it was 5-2 Reds, but the Nats were not done. A suddenly hot Keibert Ruiz came to the plate and took Lodolo yard to make it a one run game. As they have all season, this Nats offense made a statement.
The Nats would tie the game on a Joey Wiemer bases-loaded walk the next inning, but the Reds responded in the bottom half. After three innings, it was a 6-6 game. Fans of both teams needed things to calm down a little for the sake of their sanity.
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That lull would happen as both bullpens settled in. The Nats got a run in the fifth to tie the game, but other than that both offenses went quiet. You have to give huge credit to Mitchell Parker for delivering three no-hit innings for the Nats. It was a much-needed bounceback performance from Parker, who got lit up in his last outing.
After Parker exited, Richard Lovelady got himself in and then out of a big jam. Lovelady showed his now signature passion after getting a double play to end the inning. I love the passion Lovelady plays with, especially considering his story. This is a guy who has been tossed around the league, and now finally has a home.
Orlando Ribalta and Gus Varland also fired scoreless innings, and this game was headed to extras. That is when the somewhat local kid, Daylen Lile delivered his big moment. These home runs Lile has been hitting this series have all been absolute moonshots. With his family in attendance, Lile has really been flexing his muscles.
However, this game had one last crazy turn. While Daylen Lile put his hand to his neck to signal that the game was over, he should have known better with this bullpen. PJ Poulin was very shaky tonight. His command was spotty, and he gave all Nats fans a heart attack.
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The biggest heart attack moment came when Spencer Steer drove a ball deep to left field. A fan reached over the fence to grab the ball, and the umpire immediately signaled fan interference. However, we had to go through an anxiety inducing review to make sure the ball was not gone. Eventually, the call was confirmed, and Steer had an RBI double to make it a 1 run game instead of a game tying homer. Baseball really is a game of inches.
Poulin was still struggling to find the zone, but he managed to survive the outing. After the Steer scare, he got Nathaniel Lowe to ground out. Then he walked Tyler Stephenson to set up a matchup with Blake Dunn. Poulin proceeded to throw three straight non-competitive balls. However, he settled back in and fired a strike. Then he got yet another ground out to end the game. The makeshift second baseman Curtis Mead made a nice play to get the speedy Dunn at first.
This may have been the most fun win of the season. On the broadcast, they mentioned that the Nats had lost 60 straight games when they trailed by 5 at any point. Now that streak is over thanks to a truly elite offense. Tomorrow the Nats have another chance to get back to .500 and sweep the Reds. Recent history suggests they will come up short there because it always feels like they lose when they have a chance to get to .500.
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Maybe this time will be different. With Foster Griffin pitching, they have the right guy on the mound. However, they will also be facing Reds ace Chase Burns. This offense can get to anyone, other than Jacob Misiorowski though. Tomorrow will be a really fun early afternoon showdown, and hopefully the boys can get the sweep.
