WASHINGTON, D.C. – When the Cincinnati Reds returned to Nationals Park to complete their suspended game Thursday, the crowd had dwindled from thousands to hundreds.
It was a quiet atmosphere. The video board prompts for the fans to yell louder didn’t really have much of an effect.
"It’s not the first time it’s happened to any of us, obviously," Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart said.
It was a unique way to begin a stretch where the Reds were to play 2 ½ games in 24 hours, but it didn’t take away from the late-game tension in the Reds’ 5-3 loss.
Trailing by five runs in the eighth inning, the Reds tried to mount a comeback against the back of the Nationals’ bullpen. The top of the lineup produced four straight hits, which included an RBI single by Nick Castellanos that extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
The Nationals were forced to use top reliever Daniel Hudson, who had permitted only three batters to reach base in nine innings this month. Tucker Barnhart battled Hudson in an eight-pitch at-bat, fouling everything from 98-mph fastballs to an 87-mph slider, before thumping an RBI single to right field.
"I enjoy facing (Hudson) a lot," Barnhart said. "It’s not at all about whether I’ve had success or not against him. It’s a really challenging at-bat. Those guys, Max Scherzer is the same way, (Stephen) Strasburg is the same way, guys that just have elite-level stuff, that challenge you and you know it’s going to be a grind from the first pitch of the at-bat."
More:Jeff Hoffman placed on the injured list. What it means for the Cincinnati Reds' rotation.
Kyle Farmer added a sacrifice fly, scoring Castellanos, before Hudson struck out Jonathan India to strand two runners on base.
The Reds brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning when Jesse Winker, who had a four-hit game, reached on a broken-bat infield single. That brought up Castellanos vs. Nationals closer Brad Hand, but Castellanos grounded into a fielder's choice to end the game.
"As a player, all you can do to continue to compete," Reds manager David Bell said.
The Reds were already trailing by three runs when they resumed the suspended game in the middle of the fourth inning Thursday.
Along with the small crowd – fans who had tickets to Wednesday night’s game and returned Thursday afternoon – there were plenty of oddities:
Left-handed pitcher Cionel Pérez, who was at Triple-A Louisville when the game started Wednesday night, took the mound in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Jeff Hoffman, who recorded four outs before exiting with right shoulder soreness, was on the 10-day injured list by the time the game resumed.
More:No closer, no problem for the back of the Cincinnati Reds' bullpen
The game was suspended after a three-hour, four-minute rain delay Wednesday. The Reds had already boarded their bus back to the team hotel before the ballpark notified fans that the game was suspended. Maybe it should’ve been apparent when bullpen catchers carried bags out of the bullpens, or stadium workers began to clean the seating bowl.
"It was a little weird waiting around as much as we did," Barnhart said.
There was a streaker at the beginning of the rain delay that drew cheers from the crowd. The streaker sprinted to the infield and slid across the tarp. As a pair of security guards began to run onto the field, the streaker crawled inside the tarp roller. After a few moments, the streaker was apprehended and ushered off the field.
Before the thunderstorms arrived Wednesday night, the closed captioning video board behind the Reds’ bullpen announced Castellanos for one of his at-bats as “right fielder North Korea Castellanos.”
Then there were things that the Reds have seen far too often this year: Another injury, an early deficit and an out on the base paths at a critical time.
More:How the Reds Low-A Minor League team is turning overlooked pitchers into a top pitching staff
The Reds were in a two-run hole in the first inning as Hoffman, battling a sore shoulder, struggled with his command. Hoffman issued three walks, including one with the bases loaded, and gave up two singles in a 33-pitch inning.
After walking two batters in the second inning, Hoffman motioned to the dugout that he needed a trainer. The Reds now have eight players on the IL: Hoffman, Wade Miley, Joey Votto, Mike Moustakas, Nick Senzel, Aristides Aquino, Michael Lorenzen and Brandon Bailey.
A baserunning mistake spoiled a chance at a two-out rally in the fifth inning. Eugenio Suárez and Winker hit back-to-back singles against reliever Austin Voth. It should’ve been runners on the corners with Castellanos at the plate, but Winker tried to stretch his single into a double.
Winker, the trail runner with a three-run deficit, paid the price for the overaggressive baserunning and was thrown out at second base by center fielder Andrew Stevenson to end the inning.
The Nationals added two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Luis García delivered a pinch-hit triple off Ryan Hendrix and Trea Turner followed with an RBI single to right field. Turner later stole second base and scored on a groundball single.
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