Cincinnati Reds vs Washington Nationals Box Score on Jun 24, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Jun 24, 2017

WASHINGTON -- Michael A. Taylor matched a career high with four hits, including two homers, Trea Turner went a career-best 5-for-5 with a walk and Daniel Murphy drove in four runs as the Washington Nationals had 19 hits to pummel the struggling Cincinnati Reds 18-3 on Saturday.

Washington right-hander Joe Ross (4-3), in his 10th start of the year, gave up one run and six hits in seven innings. He received a major league-record 62 runs of support in his first four starts of the year.

That trend continued against the last-place Reds (30-43), who entered the game with a league-worst ERA for starters at 6.08. That theme also moved forward as Homer Bailey (0-1), in his first start this season, gave up six hits and eight runs in 1 2/3 innings and lasted just 61 pitches.

Ryan Zimmerman began the festivities with a two-run double in the first to give the first-place Nationals (45-29) a 2-0 lead.

Washington then scored six in the second to grab an 8-0 advantage and send Bailey to the showers.

Turner had an RBI single, Murphy had a three-run double and Anthony Rendon and Matt Wieters had RBI singles in the inning.

Wieters had an RBI single in the fourth and later scored on an error to make it 10-0. Taylor added a two-run homer later in the fourth to make it 12-0.

Murphy had a sacrifice fly in the fifth for a 13-0 lead.

The Reds broke the shutout with a solo homer in the sixth by Patrick Kivlehan against Ross.

Taylor hit his second homer to lead off the bottom of the sixth, making it 14-1. He ended the day going 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs.

Kivlehan had an RBI single off reliever Joe Blanton in the eighth and Eugenio Suarez added a sacrifice fly to make it 14-3.

But Turner had an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth against Blake Wood, Brian Goodwin had an RBI double, and Adam Lind and Jose Lobaton had sacrifice flies to make it 18-3.

Bailey was replaced in the second inning by Lisalverto Bonilla, who yielded five runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Tucker Barnhart, Kivlehan, Scooter Gennett and Billy Hamilton had two hits for the Reds. Zimmerman, Rendon and Wieters did likewise for the Nationals.

The Nationals are 20-14 at home and the Reds lost for the 13th time in 14 games. Washington began the day leading the league with a team batting average of .276 and league-best 114 homers.

NOTES: Reds CF Billy Hamilton broke an 0-for-20 skid with a line single in the fifth inning. ... The Reds brought RHP Homer Bailey (bone spurs, right elbow) off the 60-day disabled list to start. To make room on the roster, OF Jesse Winker, who hit .273 in 14 at-bats, was sent to Triple-A Louisville. ... Washington manager Dusty Baker had the same job with the Reds from 2008 to 2013. … Reds RHP Drew Storen had 95 saves with the Nationals from 2010 to 2015. He was a first-round draft pick by Washington out of Stanford.