Reds strike early, often to whip Nationals
Curt Casali homered among his three hits and drove in four runs for the third time in his career as the host Cincinnati Reds posted a 9-3 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday.
Joey Votto collected three singles for his fifth straight multi-hit performance and Jose Iglesias scored three times for the Reds, who have plated 66 runs in their last nine games (5-4).
Cincinnati recorded all 15 of its hits in the first five innings to provide a comfortable cushion for Tyler Mahle (2-5), who allowed three runs on five hits in five frames. The right-hander fanned eight, highlighted by striking out the side in both the first and third innings.
Juan Soto belted a solo homer and double to extend his career-high hitting streak to 14 games for the Nationals, who fell for just the second time in eight contests. The loss was Washington's first in Cincinnati since June 4, 2016.
Patrick Corbin (5-3) followed a four-hit shutout against the Miami Marlins in his last start by surrendering seven hits to the first eight batters he faced in a five-run first inning.
Eugenio Suarez and Yasiel Puig had back-to-back singles to open the scoring before Casali hit a 3-2 fastball from Corbin over the wall in left field to give the Reds an early 5-0 lead. Casali's homer was his second of the season, with the first in Sunday's 10-2 romp at the Chicago Cubs.
After Soto doubled to lead off the second and scored following two groundouts, Cincinnati rebounded with three more runs in the third. Votto capped that surge with an RBI infield single to push the advantage to 8-1.
Soto sent a 2-1 fastball from Mahle over the wall in center field in the fourth inning before Casali answered in the bottom of the frame by plating Iglesias with an RBI double to center field.
Casali finished with his eighth career three-hit performance and fell a triple shy of the cycle, with the last one by the Reds being recorded by Eric Davis on June 2, 1989.
--Field Level Media
