A former Cincinnati Reds player made himself right at home at Great American Ball Park as a member of the Washington Nationals.
Amed Rosario, who played in 22 games for the Reds in 2024, went 3-for-6 on Saturday and drove in four key runs as the Nationals evened up the three-game series with the Reds in a 11-6 win before a crowd of 26,224.
“Outside of Rosario, obviously I wasn’t in good counts and stuff, but the damage wasn’t crazy,” Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo said. “Rosario, he definitely killed me tonight. Even his first at-bat where he flew out, he hit it well. Next time I face that dude I gotta figure something out.”
The game was delayed by rain by 22 minutes. It was the third consecutive game in which the Reds were delayed by rain at Great American Ball Park.
Lodolo settled in after a rocky first inning but was roughed up again on a three-run home run by Rosario in the sixth inning. Lodolo (3-3) went 5 1/3 innings and allowed seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits, two walks, two hit batters and four strikeouts.
“Give them some credit. (Lodolo) made some pitches he probably wants back,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “I thought his stuff was good. Wasn’t, probably, commanding like he can and it cost him a little bit.”
The loss dropped the Reds to 18-16 in 2025. The Nationals improved to 15-19.
The clubs will close out their series Sunday at 4:10 p.m. at Great American Ball Park. Reds starter Nick Martinez (1-3, 4.68 ERA) is scheduled to face Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore (2-3, 3.51 ERA), a left-hander.
On Saturday, the Nationals hit the scoreboard in the top of the first inning and led, 2-0. C.J. Abrams scored on a bases-loaded single by Alex Call, and Luis Garcia Jr.’s sacrifice fly plated James Wood.
The Reds pulled even in the bottom of the inning on Spencer Steer’s two-run double. T.J. Friedl, who led off with a single, scored from second. Elly De La Cruz came all the way around from first base after reaching on a walk, which also extended his career-best on-base streak to 22 games.
Steer was 2-for-5, and received praise from Francona afterward.
“Spencer looks like he’s turning into Spencer,” Francona said, “which is a good thing.”
The Reds took a 3-2 lead in the second inning when rookie Tyler Callihan drove in Jake Fraley. The single was the first hit of Callihan’s MLB career.
“When I saw (the ball) start to get down, I was just pumped for myself and the team,” Callihan said.
Cincinnati Reds: Tyler Callihan discusses his first big-league hit
Cincinnati Reds: Tyler Callihan discusses his first big-league hit
The Nationals made it 3-3 in the fourth inning when Jacob Young scored on Rosario’s two-out double.
Then, in the sixth inning, Rosario drilled a three-run homer 408 feet to left field off Lodolo. That doubled up the Reds via a 6-3 scoreline. Before the inning ended, Wood scored again for 7-3 off a Nathaniel Lowe single.
“It got away, and it got away in a hurry,” Francona said. “The one big blow was Amed hitting the three-run homer because we’re going into the inning 3-3, feeling pretty good about it, and it got away fast.”
Fraley homered in the bottom of the inning. His 376-foot shot bounced into the right-field grandstand off the top of the wall. A comeback might have been on at that point.
The Reds gave that run right back in the top of the seventh inning, though. Washington attempted to drive a run in on a bunt squeeze. Seemingly with time for a tag to be applied at home plate, Reds reliever Yosver Zulueta cleanly fielded Jacob Young’s bunt but threw to first base rather than feeding catcher Tyler Stephenson.
Dylan Crews slid into home safely as Zulueta turned up the first baseline and threw out Young, making the score 8-4.
Afterward, Francona said Zulueta misinterpreted Stephenson’s instructions, adding that the players were “lost in the translation.”
In the eighth inning, a two-run, bases-loaded single with two outs by the Nationals’ Riley Adams made it 10-4, and sent some Reds fans heading for the exit gates.
There was a blemish on Rosario’s night − he lost track of Noelvi Marte’s infield pop-up in the eighth inning. The ball fell in with two men on, allowing Steer to score. Rosario then casually tossed the ball to second base where Marte, who might have run out his pop-up too far, was tagged out to end the frame.
Rookie reliever Luis Mey pitched the ninth and allowed a run to make it 11-5.
De La Cruz doubled in Matt McLain, who walked, in the bottom of the ninth to make it 11-6.