The Cincinnati Reds sent a loud message to the rest of the league on Thursday afternoon, crushing the Washington Nationals 15-1 at Great American Ball Park to avoid a series sweep. It was a performance that had fans on their feet from the first pitch to the final out.
Leading the charge was right-hander Chase Burns, who delivered six shutout innings of masterful pitching. The 23-year-old improved to 5-1 on the season, striking out seven while scattering just two hits. Even when the Reds defense committed three errors in the fifth inning—including one by Burns himself on a dropped toss covering first base—he refused to let the Nationals cross the plate. It's the kind of composure that makes a young pitcher stand out, and Burns has now allowed just one earned run over his last three starts.
The Reds offense wasted no time giving their starter support. Matt McLain launched a two-run homer in the second inning—his fourth of the year—to put Cincinnati up 2-0. But the real fireworks came from JJ Bleday, who had a day to remember. He crushed a three-run blast in the fifth inning that extended the lead to 9-0 and chased Nationals starter Foster Griffin from the game. Griffin entered the contest with a sparkling 2.12 ERA, but the Reds tagged him for nine earned runs in just 4 1/3 innings.
Bleday wasn't done. In the seventh inning, he added a two-run homer—his sixth of the season—making it 11-0 and marking the third multi-homer game of his career. He finished with six RBIs on the day, adding a bloop single during a four-run eighth inning that also featured a three-run homer from Dane Myers off Nationals outfielder-turned-pitcher Joey Wiemer.
Defensively, the Reds put on a show of their own. Spencer Steer made a sliding catch in left field to strand a runner on second in the third inning, and Myers followed with a diving grab in center to end the fifth with runners on the corners. Those moments kept the momentum firmly on Cincinnati's side.
Elly De La Cruz continued his hot streak, doubling and singling for his sixth consecutive multi-hit game—tying the longest such streak by a Reds switch hitter since 1900. Steer also contributed, going 2 for 3 with three runs scored.
The Nationals finally got on the board in the eighth inning on a wild pitch by Lucas Mey, but by then the game was well out of reach. The win extended the Reds' impressive run of consecutive home series without being swept to 39 games, their longest such streak since setting a franchise record.
For Reds fans, this was a glimpse of what this team can be when the pitching and hitting click together. And with Burns dealing and Bleday swinging a hot bat, Cincinnati looks ready to make some noise.