Washington Nationals at Cincinnati Reds: Final Score & Recap
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WSH | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 1 |
| CIN | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
The Story
The Washington Nationals escaped Great American Ball Park with an 8-7 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on May 13, 2026, completing a dramatic comeback in extra innings after falling behind 5-0 in the first frame. Cincinnati burst out of the gate with five runs in the bottom of the first, but Washington answered with four in the second and never fully relinquished its pursuit of the lead. The game remained knotted at 7 heading to the tenth, where the DiamondIQ model's estimate of a Nationals win had fluctuated dramatically before the decisive moment arrived.
That moment belonged to Daylen Lile, whose two-run home run off Tony Santillan in the top of the tenth was the single most impactful play of the game, shifting win probability by plus 56.1 percentage points and ultimately proving to be the margin of victory. It was the kind of swing that defined the entire contest. Cincinnati had its own late opportunities, most notably when Matt McLain doubled off Gus Varland in the bottom of the ninth to generate a plus 17.5 percentage point swing, keeping the Reds' faint hopes alive. But the threat fizzled, and in the bottom of the tenth, Blake Dunn's groundout and Spencer Steer's double off PJ Poulin represented Cincinnati's final pushes before the Nationals closed it out.
Lile finished as the game's standout performer with a plus 50.9 WPA and plus 1.4 RE24, while McLain posted a plus 20.2 WPA despite a marginally negative RE24 of minus 0.1, reflecting how sequencing shaped his contributions. Luis García Jr. added plus 15.4 WPA and plus 0.2 RE24 for Washington. On the pitching side, Brock Burke led all pitchers at plus 18.9 WPA, followed closely by Mitchell Parker at plus 18.1 WPA, with Graham Ashcraft contributing plus 13.5 WPA for Cincinnati. The DiamondIQ model had installed the Reds as 56 percent pre-game favorites, but that probability collapsed to zero by the final out, a fitting numerical summary of how completely Washington seized control in the extra frame.