The Cincinnati Reds brutalized the Washington Nationals pitching staff Friday night, socking six home runs en route to a 15-0 victory. Third baseman Todd Frazier and shortstop Zack Cozart each homered twice in the thrashing.
The party started for the Reds in the second inning, when Frazier and Cozart each blasted solo shots to give Cincinnati a 2-0 lead. In the next inning Cozart struck again, this time driving in three runs with his second bomb of the day. In the fourth inning Choo sent another Dan Haren pitch over the fence, giving the Reds a 6-0 advantage.
Haren, who was making his first start with Washington, did not come out for the fifth inning. His rough night ended after four innings after he had surrendered nine hits and six earned runs, including four homers. On a positive note for Haren, he did strike out five batters while walking none.
Haren, who had a disappointing 2012 in which he went 12-13 while posting a 4.33 ERA for the Los Angeles Angels, was not discouraged by his poor outing.
"I've had my share of bad games along with good games," Haren said. "They're tough to deal with, but the sooner you forget about it, the better. It's such a long season. I've probably got 30-plus starts left. This start isn't going to define how the year goes."
Haren wasn't the only Nationals pitcher touched up for some long balls. Zach Duke coughed up Frazier's second home run of the game and Henry Rodriguez gave up the final home run of the night to Xavier Paul.
Even Reds starter Homer Bailey, who pitched six shutout innings and gave up just two hits while striking out six, got in on the hit parade with a double. Bailey poked fun at himself following the game saying, "That's when you know the team is having a good night, when I get a hit."
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