Cincinnati Reds drop lopsided series opener to Washington Nationals

It was hard to find the silver lining in the Cincinnati Reds' series-opening loss to the Washington Nationals . Reds starting pitcher Brady Singer was the subject of the latest injury scare on the pitching staff , the bullpen faltered behind Singer, and the team's bats couldn't provide timely hitting in a 10-4 loss to the Nationals on May 12 at Great American Ball Park. For Washington, Luís Garcia Jr.

and Louisville native Daylen Lile both hit two home runs, and James Wood added a fifth long ball. In the eighth inning, Brady House drilled a two-run shot to the stands in the right-center field alley for the visitors' sixth home run of the night. More: Elly De La Cruz, Reds not talking extension right now, says Jim Bowden In the second inning, Lile hit a line drive that appeared to strike the outside of Singer's right foot.

The grounder was measured at 106. 7 mph off Lile's bat, and Singer stayed on the ground after the play ended. An athletic trainer and Reds manager Terry Francona emerged from the dugout to tend to Singer, who eventually walked around the mound, threw a warmup toss and ended up staying in the game.

Singer's early exit was a disconcerting sight given that Cincinnati was already contending with multiple injuries to its starting pitchers . Trailing 3-0 in the fourth inning, Cincinnati loaded the bases with no outs but only produced two runs from the situation, and one scored on a Washington fielding error. The Reds ended the night 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.