CINCINNATI (AP) — Daylen Lile hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the 10th inning, Keibert Ruiz also went deep and the Washington Nationals rallied from an early five-run deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-7 on Wednesday night.
With his father in the stands at Great American Ball Park, Lile hit a 409-foot drive to right-center off Tony Santillan (1-2) to score automatic runner CJ Abrams. It was the third homer in two games and sixth of the season
for the 23-year-old Lile, a second-year player from Louisville, Kentucky.
In the bottom of the 10th, Spencer Steer hit a line drive to the wall in left field that was caught by a fan. Umpires ruled that the fan had reached over the wall and called fan interference, giving Steer a double that scored automatic runner Sal Stewart. PJ Poulin then recorded the final two outs for his second save.
Tyler Stephenson hit a grand slam in the first inning that gave Cincinnati a 5-0 lead, but Washington tied the game two innings later. Joey Wiemer had an RBI double and Ruiz hit a two-run homer in a four-run second, and Wiemer drew a bases-loaded walk in the third.
In the bottom half, the Reds went ahead 6-5 on a throwing error by shortstop Abrams. The Nationals tied it again in the sixth on an RBI grounder by Luis García Jr.
Gus Varland (1-1) pitched a scoreless ninth.
Cincinnati has lost 10 of 12, while Washington improved to 15-9 on the road — including 3-2 on its current trip.
LHP Foster Griffin (4-1, 2.12 ERA) takes the mound for the Nationals on Thursday as they seek a three-game sweep. RHP Chase Burns (4-1, 2.11) starts for the Reds.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
