Nick Lodolo pitched his first complete game with eight strikeouts, Nick Fraley and Santiago Espinal each had two hits and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Washington Nationals 5-0.

Cincinnati Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo (8-6) lowered his ERA to 3.08 with his first career shutout, second by Reds (also Andrew Abbott).

The Cincinnati Reds delivered a commanding 5-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on July 23, 2025, at Nationals Park, salvaging the final game of a three-game series. Led by a masterful complete-game shutout from pitcher Nick Lodolo and timely hitting from Jake Fraley and Noelvi Marte,

Right-hander pitches around a decrease in velocity but the bats provide no support in a 5-0 loss to the Reds, who stave off a series sweep.

After losing a series to the Washington Nationals earlier in the week, the Reds are 53-50 and sit 2 1/2 games out of the third and final National League Wild Card spot. The Reds desperately could use a right-handed power bat as well as bullpen help.

BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals host the Cincinnati Reds, leading the series 1-0. Washington is 40-60 overall and 20-30 in home games. Nationals hitters are batting a collective .246, which ranks eighth in the NL.

WASHINGTON – A Cincinnati Reds team that looked like a playoff contender in New York pitched like a team making October vacation plans by the time they got done losing 10-8 to the not-good Nationals in Washington in the opener of a three-game series Monday.

The Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks have mutual interest in a deal that would be Eugenio Suarez back to Cincinnati, according to C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic.