WASHINGTON -- It was one of those days Brady Singer would prefer to do over.
The Nationals had no trouble connecting against Singer as Washington raced out to an early lead and held on for a 10-8 win over the Reds in the series opener on Monday night at Nationals Park.
Washington’s first four hits went for extra bases -- two doubles, one triple and one homer -- as the Nats built a 7-0 lead. James Wood started it with an RBI double and Daylen Lile added a bases-clearing triple. Josh Bell cranked a double and later a homer, all charged to Singer.
"[There] wasn't, obviously, much working for me,” Singer said. “Pitches didn't feel really good. [My] mechanics felt a little out of whack, didn't pitch well. Obviously, not what I want to do there.”
With one out in the third, Singer was lifted, matching his shortest stint of the season. The right-hander allowed seven runs on May 10 against the Astros in just 2 1/3 innings.
"He walked the first hitter [CJ Abrams],” manager Terry Francona said. “Then, first pitch, second hitter, [Wood] lines the ball into left-center and so there's no settling into the game. [Singer] just wasn't throwing the ball where he wanted. The ball was moving different directions. He wasn't commanding the way he needed to.
“I didn't want to go get him that quick, but I wanted to keep the game where it was because I thought we might have a chance to win."
Singer looked like he might be able to get back on track with a scoreless second inning, but then, the Nationals scored three more in the third.
"[I] felt good in the bullpen,” Singer said. “[I] felt good throwing prior this week. Just got out there and got behind in some counts. Had to leave some pitches in the zone and caught a lot of the middle of the plate. They did damage on it."
The Reds’ offense battled back to try and save the game for Singer, and Cincinnati almost erased the entire 7-0 deficit with a five-run fourth inning.
Then, in the ninth -- down, 10-6, against Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan -- the Reds pulled closer with Gavin Lux’s second RBI single, and Elly De La Cruz scored on a wild pitch. With two outs and one runner on, Noelvi Marte flied out to Nathaniel Lowe in foul territory to end the game.
"[Finnegan is] a big league closer,” said Lux, who finished 2-for-5 with two hits, two RBIs and one run scored. “He's got a really good heater and a good split. Though to make them use him, especially being down seven early, that's big for us. We just got to keep going and we will be where we want to be. I've definitely been grinding at the plate so it was nice to see one go through."
After the Reds allowed only 14 runs total in their previous five games (where they went 4-1), Monday was a rare night where the pitching staff got knocked around a bit, yielding 15 hits.
In addition to Singer, Francona employed six relievers in an attempt to stay close. Along with Singer’s seven runs, the bullpen surrendered three more runs on 10 hits with six walks and seven strikeouts.
"That's a big ask,” Francona said of the parade of relievers. “[Brent] Suter threw a bunch of pitches yesterday. He's back in there today. That's hard on those guys. When you ask them to start facing guys, maybe, that you don't want them to, it's not going to go quite as well."