Espinosa gets seven RBIs in Nationals' win
WASHINGTON -- Switch-hitting shortstop Danny Espinosa had two homers and a career-high seven RBIs and lefty Gio Gonzalez won his first game since May 18 as the first-place Washington Nationals had three homers to blitz the last-place Cincinnati Reds 13-4 Thursday.
Espinosa, who has 15 homers this season, became the first player in Montreal/Washington franchise history to hit a homer from each side of the plate since Geoff Blum did it for the Expos in 2001. Espinosa is the first person in franchise history to pull off the feat in which one of the homers was a grand slam, and he got a curtain call from the home fans after his three-run shot in the fourth.
It was the second night in a row that a middle infielder had two homers for the Nationals, as second baseman Daniel Murphy did so Wednesday against the New York Mets. Ryan Zimmerman added two hits, including a homer, and three RBIs and Chris Heisey had two hits and two RBIs.
The Reds scored three runs in the sixth as Joey Votto (two hits) led off with a homer, Adam Duvall had a run-scoring groundout and Tucker Barnhart had an RBI single to cut the margin to 13-4.
Gonzalez (4-7) allowed four runs on six hits with nine strikeouts in six innings before Matt Belisle came on in the seventh. Washington had lost the previous seven starts by Gonzalez, who was 0-6 in that stretch.
The losing pitcher was Brandon Finnegan (3-7), who gave up eight runs, five hits and five walks in just 2 1/3 innings before Josh Smith took over in the third. The Nationals (48-32) won their fifth game in a row while the Reds (29-51) lost for the eighth time in the last nine games. Cincinnati has been outscored 69-31 during that stretch.
The Nationals have 107 homers this year and entered the day tied for the league lead. Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce also had two hits for the Reds, who began a 10-game road trip in rough fashion.
Espinosa hit his homers in the first four innings as the Nationals took a 13-1 lead.
The Reds scored a run in the top of the first before the Nationals responded with four in the bottom of the inning.
Zimmerman hit a three-run homer to give the Nationals a 4-1 lead. It was his first homer since June 17, and it came in his first career at-bat against Finnegan. Wilson Ramos drove in the first run of the inning with a hard-hit sacrifice fly to left.
Zimmerman has 11 homers and is one of six Washington players with at least 10 homers this year.
Espinosa, batting right-handed, hit a grand slam -- the second of his career -- in the third to give the Nationals an 8-1 lead. The blast ended the night for Finnegan, who saw his ERA jump from 3.83 to 4.48.
In the fourth, Heisey had a two-run single and Espinosa, the No. 8 hitter in the lineup, smashed a three-run shot as a left-handed hitter against Smith to give the Nationals a 13-1 advantage. Both homers by Espinosa landed in nearly the same spot in the Reds bullpen behind the left field fence.
Finnegan last pitched at Nationals Park on Sept. 28, 2015, the same day Washington's Max Scherzer took a no-hitter into the eighth inning in a 5-1 win.
NOTES: Reds CF Billy Hamilton was in the starting lineup after a ball hit him in the face on Wednesday on Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo's inside-the-park homer. ... Washington RF Bryce Harper was not in the starting lineup against Cincinnati LHP Brandon Finnegan. Harper played in 76 of the Nationals' first 79 games. "It's that time of the year," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. "We're halfway (through the season). So today is the day." ... Reds RHP Anthony DeSclafani (2-0, 1.52 ERA) faces Nationals RHP Tanner Roark (7-5, 2.96) on Friday. ... Reds OF Jay Bruce greeted Nationals coach Chris Speier near the batting cage before the game. Speier is a former coach with the Reds under Baker. ... Nationals RHP Blake Treinen, a native of Kansas, turned 28 Thursday.