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Jesus Flores homered off Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo in the fifth inning, but that was the first run the Nationals had scored against the right-hander. And when Arroyo retired the first two batters he faced in the sixth, Reds manager Dusty Baker probably thought he could finish the inning without any trouble.
The Nationals quickly took advantage of the tiring starter, though, getting a walk and two hits to load the bases before Jonny Gomes drove in two with a double. Arroyo finished the inning, but not before the Nationals could extend their lead to 3-0.
They're sweating a little in the seventh, though, after Ryan Mattheus came out of the game with trainer Lee Kuntz. Mattheus could have been hurt, or manager Davey Johnson could have been feigning injury to get Henry Rodriguez more time to warm up. In any case, Rodriguez has thrown a wild pitch and Flores has a passed ball after Ian Desmond made an error on a routine play.
Rodriguez now has 12 wild pitches this year, which leads the National League. And it's 3-1 Nationals in the seventh.
