BASEBALL: Daylen Lile's 10th-inning blast leads Nationals past Reds

Daylen Lile hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning as the visiting Washington Nationals edged the Cincinnati Reds 8-7 on Wednesday.

Lile, a Louisville native who also homered twice in his first game at Great American Ball Park on Monday, connected off Tony Santillan (1-2) with one out in the top of the 10th. Automatic runner CJ Abrams was on second at the time.

The Reds nearly responded in the bottom half of the inning. Spencer Steer drove a ball to left field off PJ Poulin, where a fan reached over the fence and caught it. After a crew-chief review, officials ruled spectator interference and awarded Steer a double, allowing automatic runner Sal Stewart to score. Tyler Stephenson later walked with two outs, but Blake Dunn grounded out to end the game as Poulin earned his second save.

Washington erased an early deficit with a steady offensive response after falling behind 5-0 in the first inning. Keibert Ruiz and CJ Abrams both contributed key hits, while Lile added a single and a sacrifice fly earlier in the game.

The Reds’ fast start came after sending nine batters to the plate in the opening frame. Elly De La Cruz singled and later scored, and Spencer Steer and Nathaniel Lowe drew walks before Stephenson capped the rally with a grand slam to center field off Jake Irvin.

The Nationals answered in the second inning. Abrams doubled and Jacob Young singled him to third before Abrams scored on Lile’s sacrifice fly. Young then crossed the plate on Joey Wiemer’s double, and Ruiz followed with a home run off Nick Lodolo to cut the deficit to 5-4.

Washington continued to chip away in the third when Curtis Mead was hit by a pitch and later scored on a bases-loaded walk issued to Wiemer.

The Reds briefly regained the lead in the bottom of the inning. Steer singled to open the frame, and Lowe walked before a fielder’s choice and an errant relay throw allowed Steer to score, putting Cincinnati ahead 6-5.

The Nationals tied it again in the fifth when Jacob Young singled, advanced to third on Lile’s hit, and scored on a groundout by Luis Garcia Jr.

Washington reliever Gus Varland (1-1) worked a scoreless ninth inning despite allowing a leadoff double to Matt McLain.

Elly De La Cruz finished 2-for-5 for Cincinnati, extending his streak of multi-hit games to five.

—Field Level Media/Reuters