Aristides Aquino homers yet again, Reds fall to Nationals 7-6

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

It’s hard to really fathom what sort of run Aristides Aquino has seen play out over the last week and a half. After hitting a billion dingers last week, he was named the NL’s Player of the Week today. This, of course, after having been DFA’d off the Cincinnati roster altogether less than a calendar year ago.

His dream run continued in the Reds loss to the Washington Nationals on Monday, too, as he homered late to bring his string of bonking opposing pitchers on the noggin to every single day of his entire 2019 campaign. In fact, he became the first player ever to bash 8 dingers in their first career 12 games played, which is a pretty damn amazing feat:

Yee-zeus, that’s good.

Congrats, Aristides, and here’s to keeping this phenomenal run up until roughly 2037, or so.

Honorable Mentions are due to: Jose Iglesias, who tripled, doubled, singled, and drove in a run on the same day that the Reds claimed veteran shortstop Freddy Galvis from the Toronto Blue Jays; Josh VanMeter, who had another 2-hit night; Jesse Winker and Phillip Ervin, who both went yard with solo blasts; Joey Votto, who singled, doubled in a run, and walked twice; and Kevin Gausman, who fired a pair of scoreless innings of relief.

Key Plays

• Erick Fedde had thrown precisely zero pitches in this game before Jesse Winker honked a dinger, as Fedde’s initial offering was turned around for a becoming-patented opposite field dinger, and the Reds held an early 1-0 lead.
• Walks, as they are wont to do, will haunt. That proved true against Anthony DeSclafani in the Bottom of the 1st, as he walked Adam Eaton before Matt Adams Matt Adamsed a 2-run dinger over the wall in CF. Disco then surrendered a double to Asdrubal Cabrera, and Cabby then scored on an RBI single by Gerardo Parra. Man, getting veteranny up in here. Reds trailed, 3-1.
• The Reds scraped across a second run in the Top of the 2nd, as Jose Iglesias veteran’d a double off the wall in CF to score Tucker Barnhart, who had singled in front of him. Reds trailed, 3-2.
• Disco allowed a 2-out single to the #8 hitter followed by another 2-out single to Fedde, the pitcher, to begin the escalation of the Bottom of the 4th. Of course, that turned the lineup over for the fabled third time through the order, which thumped the Reds right in the noggin when Trea Turner crushed a hanging meatball from Disco for a 3-run job that left the Reds behind, 6-2.
• Turner got to the Reds again in the Bottom of the 7th, singling into CF to score Howie Kendrick, who had earlier doubled off the wall in right-center. Reds trailed, 7-2.
• Aquino took on former Cincinnati Red Tanner Rainey in the Top of the 8th, and promptly Aquino’d yet another dinger, this time a 2-run shot over the CF wall that pulled the Reds within 3 at 7-4.
• Phil Ervin stepped in to face lefty closer Sean Doolittle in the Top of the 9th, and as we all know, Phlerve mauls lefties. Maul he did, greeting the Nationals closer with a massive solo homer into the LF seats to begin the Top of the 9th. Later, Iglesias reached on a single and scored on Votto’s double off the RF wall to make it 7-6, but that’s unfortunately how things wrapped.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• The Reds had Jared Hughes on the mound for an inning of work tonight, as he returned to the mound following his suspension for the fracas against the Pittsburgh whateverthehelltheyares. In turn, Amir Garrett began serving his lengthy 8-game suspension tonight, meaning the Reds will be very short-handed as well as very right-handed for the next week plus.
• Anthony DeSclafani surrendered a multi-run dinger in the 1st inning for the 3rd consecutive game in this one. Unlike those other starts, though, this one continued to go downhill, and his 4 IP marked his shortest outing since late May. His final line: 4 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K on 83 pitches.
• Joe Ross and his 6.75 ERA will start tomorrow for Washington in the middle-match of this vital 3-game series, so hopefully the bats will wake the hell up for that matchup. Meanwhile, the Reds will turn to lefty Alex Wood with hopes that he can finally put together the kind of brilliant start they hoped for when trading for him last winter. First pitch is set for 7:05 PM ET once again.
• Turner Tunes.