Soto's remarkable run continues in win over Reds (updated)

We've reached the point of absurdity with Juan Soto. It has become impossible to note anything the young Nationals star does without comparing him to the greatest hitters who have ever played this game. And it's not hyperbole. Soto legitimately deserves the comparison.

Because you can't really compare him to anyone else currently hitting in 2021, not right now. Yes, Bryce Harper is having a phenomenal season for the Phillies and might still hang on to win the National League MVP. But Soto is outhitting him down the stretch. And if the 22-year-old keeps this up through the season's final nine games, he very well may surpass Harper in every last meaningful offensive category and perhaps just swipe that MVP trophy away from his former teammate.

What did Soto do tonight during the Nationals' 3-2 victory in Cincinnati? Oh, just go 3-for-3 with two homers and a walk to continue the most impressive road trip in club history.

And this was no isolated performance. Soto reached base five times Wednesday night in Miami, three times the previous night, four times the night before that. All told, he has now reached base in 10 consecutive plate appearances, matching Nick Johnson's club record.

"I've been learning this since I was in rookie ball: Never give up any at-bat, any time," Soto said in his postgame Zoom session with reporters. "No matter what's happening, just keep grinding, keep playing baseball. 'Cause you never know. Maybe one at-bat can get you out of the .300 mark. I just want to be locked in, keep grinding every time. It doesn't matter what is happening."

And it's not just walks. Soto is hitting every pitch he gets in the strike zone with authority. His pair of homers tonight - one on an 0-2 fastball from Luis Castillo, the other on a 3-2 fastball from Luis Cessa - give him 29 on the season, not to mention 92 RBIs.

Oh, and he's still drawing walks on top of all that. He won a nine-pitch battle with Castillo in the top of the first and made the slow trot to first base for the 131st time this season, breaking Harper's franchise record in the process.

What do you get at the end of all that? The following stats: A .325 batting average, .470 on-base percentage and 1.029 OPS. He leads the NL in the first two categories, and he's fast gaining on Harper (1.050) in the latter.

"Joey Votto, he just told me: 'Good at-bat. Good swing,' " Soto said of his encounter with the Reds' potential Hall of Fame first baseman following his third-inning single. "And then I don't see him for the rest of the night."

(That's because he homered in each of his next two at-bats and had no reason to stop at first base to chat.)

Then there's this ever-updating factoid: Soto has now reached base four times in 24 separate games this season. The only players in history to do it more times than that are Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams and Barry Bonds.

Does this 22-year-old in his fourth big league season really deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as those icons?

"Right now, absolutely," manager Davey Martinez said. "I said this maybe a couple years ago: I played with a guy that was pretty impressive in his day, and that was Barry. I said if (Soto) keeps going the way he's going, if you compare anybody to Barry, it would be Juan right now."

Soto accounted for two of the Nationals' three runs tonight. The other came on Josh Bell's two-out RBI single, moments after Soto singled to center and advanced Lane Thomas from first to third. And that's all the offense they needed, thanks to a highly encouraging start from Patrick Corbin and just enough quality work from the bullpen.

With only two remaining starts to try to salvage something heading into the winter, Corbin faced the prospect of going up against a Reds lineup featuring two of the toughest hitters in baseball, in an extremely hitter-friendly ballpark. Somehow, Nick Castellanos and Votto were the least of his problems, helping get him out of his biggest jam of the night.

Corbin issued four walks over his 6 2/3 innings, and two of them came in succession on eight pitches in the bottom of the third. That left the bases loaded, with Castellanos stepping to the plate and Votto waiting in the on-deck circle. Corbin, though, responded with one of his best sequences of the year: He struck out both sluggers with 2-2 sliders, stranding three on base in impressive fashion.

"Just trying to make some quality pitches, and was very consistent with my slider," the lefty said. "Threw some good ones there that got me out of a huge spot. In that situation, I'm going for a strikeout for sure. So I'm just trying to make some quality pitches there and I thought I was able to do it like I have before (this year)."

Corbin would go on to strike out both Castellanos and Votto once more apiece, accounting for four of his seven total strikeouts in the game. And once Mason Thompson entered from the bullpen to help get him out of a jam in the bottom of the seventh, Corbin had lowered his ERA under the 6.00 mark. It's hardly anything to crow about, but for him it's a small sign of progress, even if he's made a point to avoid thinking about his stats during this lost season.

"I think I've been doing that for a while now," Corbin said. "I know how frustrating it's been, but I can't just go home every day, see what my numbers are. It's not going to change overnight. I just need to come to the ballpark every day, no matter what happened, try to find a way to get better. And I think we're in the right direction there. Just trying to finish this season feeling good."

Add another dominant inning of relief from Tanner Rainey, who did walk Votto to allow his first baserunner since returning to the majors last week but also recorded two more strikeouts, and the Nats handed a 3-0 lead over to Kyle Finnegan in the ninth. The de facto closer would get into immediate trouble, allowing a leadoff single and then a triple, but he proceeded to record three outs to close out a one-run victory and ensure the Nationals have themselves a three-game winning streak.

They also have themselves the best hitter on the planet.

"He's got to be up there in MVP votes, if not the MVP," Corbin said. "It's pretty incredible what he's doing. To only see a pitch or two each game and put a swing on it like that ... I'm lucky I don't have to face him, and I get to see him every day."