WASHINGTON -- In a matchup against Max Scherzer and the first-place Washington Nationals, Johnny Cueto lifted his game to another level -- perhaps that of an All-Star.
Cueto pitched a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts, Joey Votto homered and drove in three runs and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Nationals 5-0 Tuesday night.
The potential pitching duel between Cueto and Scherzer never materialized. Cueto kept up his end, retiring the final 15 batters in one of the best performances of his career.
Cueto (6-5) threw 122 pitches in his fifth career shutout. It was the first time in 210 starts he had at least 11 strikeouts and gave up two hits or fewer.
"He was making a statement, man," catcher Brayan Pena said. "He was showing everybody that he's one of the best pitchers in the National League and the big leagues in general. The fact that he came here, against a great pitcher and a great team, throwing a complete game shutout is saying something."
Cueto is among the candidates vying to earn a spot on the All-Star roster via a final vote from the fans, and this performance certainly didn't hurt his bid.
"I would love to pitch in the All-Star Game. I want to do it," Cueto said through an interpreter. "It's an All-Star Game in Cincinnati, with my fans in my house with my team."
Scherzer already has a spot on the All-Star roster, but Cueto was clearly the better pitcher on this night.
"People out there, fans know who I am and they know what I do," Cueto said.
Scherzer (9-7) gave up five runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings, his shortest outing in more than a year. The five runs were more than he allowed in his previous four games combined, a stretch that included a no-hitter and a one-hitter.
"I've had stinkers before. It's just part of the deal," Scherzer said. "I don't get fazed by them anymore."
Votto was the main culprit. He doubled in a run in the first inning, hit a solo homer in the third and added an RBI single in the fifth.
But the star was Cueto, who pitched his 11th career complete game. It was the 30th start in the last two seasons in which he allowed no more than two runs over at least seven innings.
"That was just A-grade stuff," manager Bryan Price said. "Command with action. All the deceptive hesitations, quick pitches and still quality strikes. That's really what we needed, was a shutdown game by our ace."
Jay Bruce had two hits and an RBI for the Reds, who will try for a 6-0 sweep of the season series Wednesday night.
Scherzer gave up two runs before getting two outs. After Brandon Phillips opened the game with a single, Votto hit an RBI double and scored on a triple by Bruce.
Votto made it 3-0 in the third with his 15th home run, a drive that soared over the right-field wall into the Washington bullpen.
Cincinnati used an RBI single by Votto and a sacrifice fly by Todd Frazier to chase Scherzer in the fifth. He entered the game with a 1.82 ERA and left at 2.12.
"They are a great team," Scherzer said. "I made mistakes. They hit them hard. They hit them far."
TRAINERS ROOM
Reds: LHP Tony Cingrani (strained left shoulder) was scheduled to pitch for Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday night. ... RHP Anthony DeSclafani is expected to make his next start despite experiencing tightness in his hip region during Monday's start.
Nationals: CF Denard Span (back spasms) and INF Yunel Escobar (hamstring strain) were both held out of the game. Span received an MRI and will be seeing a specialist for the recurring injury. "It's been very frustrating, to say the least," Span said.
ON DECK
Reds: Rookie right-hander Michael Lorenzen (3-3, 3.58) makes his 12th big league start in the series finale Wednesday night. He beat the Nationals 8-2 on May 31.
Nationals: Gio Gonzalez (6-4, 4.16) has allowed one earned run in his last two starts for a 0.64 ERA.
Cueto pitched a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts, Joey Votto homered and drove in three runs and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Nationals 5-0 Tuesday night.
The potential pitching duel between Cueto and Scherzer never materialized. Cueto kept up his end, retiring the final 15 batters in one of the best performances of his career.
Cueto (6-5) threw 122 pitches in his fifth career shutout. It was the first time in 210 starts he had at least 11 strikeouts and gave up two hits or fewer.
"He was making a statement, man," catcher Brayan Pena said. "He was showing everybody that he's one of the best pitchers in the National League and the big leagues in general. The fact that he came here, against a great pitcher and a great team, throwing a complete game shutout is saying something."
Cueto is among the candidates vying to earn a spot on the All-Star roster via a final vote from the fans, and this performance certainly didn't hurt his bid.
"I would love to pitch in the All-Star Game. I want to do it," Cueto said through an interpreter. "It's an All-Star Game in Cincinnati, with my fans in my house with my team."
Scherzer already has a spot on the All-Star roster, but Cueto was clearly the better pitcher on this night.
"People out there, fans know who I am and they know what I do," Cueto said.
Scherzer (9-7) gave up five runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings, his shortest outing in more than a year. The five runs were more than he allowed in his previous four games combined, a stretch that included a no-hitter and a one-hitter.
"I've had stinkers before. It's just part of the deal," Scherzer said. "I don't get fazed by them anymore."
Votto was the main culprit. He doubled in a run in the first inning, hit a solo homer in the third and added an RBI single in the fifth.
But the star was Cueto, who pitched his 11th career complete game. It was the 30th start in the last two seasons in which he allowed no more than two runs over at least seven innings.
"That was just A-grade stuff," manager Bryan Price said. "Command with action. All the deceptive hesitations, quick pitches and still quality strikes. That's really what we needed, was a shutdown game by our ace."
Jay Bruce had two hits and an RBI for the Reds, who will try for a 6-0 sweep of the season series Wednesday night.
Scherzer gave up two runs before getting two outs. After Brandon Phillips opened the game with a single, Votto hit an RBI double and scored on a triple by Bruce.
Votto made it 3-0 in the third with his 15th home run, a drive that soared over the right-field wall into the Washington bullpen.
Cincinnati used an RBI single by Votto and a sacrifice fly by Todd Frazier to chase Scherzer in the fifth. He entered the game with a 1.82 ERA and left at 2.12.
"They are a great team," Scherzer said. "I made mistakes. They hit them hard. They hit them far."
TRAINERS ROOM
Reds: LHP Tony Cingrani (strained left shoulder) was scheduled to pitch for Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday night. ... RHP Anthony DeSclafani is expected to make his next start despite experiencing tightness in his hip region during Monday's start.
Nationals: CF Denard Span (back spasms) and INF Yunel Escobar (hamstring strain) were both held out of the game. Span received an MRI and will be seeing a specialist for the recurring injury. "It's been very frustrating, to say the least," Span said.
ON DECK
Reds: Rookie right-hander Michael Lorenzen (3-3, 3.58) makes his 12th big league start in the series finale Wednesday night. He beat the Nationals 8-2 on May 31.
Nationals: Gio Gonzalez (6-4, 4.16) has allowed one earned run in his last two starts for a 0.64 ERA.
7:05PM,EDT,July 7,2015
Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Cincinnati - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Max Scherzer pitching for Washington | CIN | WSH |
| Phillips singled to left, Phillips to second on error by second baseman Uggla. | 0 | 0 |
| Votto doubled to deep right, Phillips scored. | 1 | 0 |
| Frazier struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| Bruce tripled to deep right center, Votto scored. | 2 | 0 |
| Peña grounded into fielder's choice to first, Bruce out at home. | 2 | 0 |
| Suárez struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Johnny Cueto pitching for Cincinnati | CIN | WSH |
| Taylor lined out to third. | 2 | 0 |
| Espinosa safe at first on error by first baseman Votto. | 2 | 0 |
| Harper singled to left, Espinosa to second. | 2 | 0 |
| Ramos grounded out to second, Espinosa to third, Harper to second. | 2 | 0 |
| Robinson flied out to center. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Cincinnati - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Max Scherzer pitching for Washington | CIN | WSH |
| Schumaker grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 0 |
| Cueto popped out to shortstop. | 2 | 0 |
| Hamilton lined out to left. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Johnny Cueto pitching for Cincinnati | CIN | WSH |
| Uggla grounded out to second. | 2 | 0 |
| Desmond grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 0 |
| den Dekker struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cincinnati - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Max Scherzer pitching for Washington | CIN | WSH |
| Phillips struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| Votto homered to right (369 feet). | 3 | 0 |
| Frazier popped out to shortstop. | 3 | 0 |
| Bruce fouled out to third. | 3 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Johnny Cueto pitching for Cincinnati | CIN | WSH |
| Scherzer struck out looking. | 3 | 0 |
| Taylor struck out swinging. | 3 | 0 |
| Espinosa fouled out to third. | 3 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cincinnati - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Max Scherzer pitching for Washington | CIN | WSH |
| Peña lined out to first. | 3 | 0 |
| Suárez struck out swinging. | 3 | 0 |
| Schumaker flied out to center. | 3 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Johnny Cueto pitching for Cincinnati | CIN | WSH |
| Harper walked. | 3 | 0 |
| Ramos safe at first on error by third baseman Frazier, Harper to second. | 3 | 0 |
| Robinson grounded into double play, second to first to shortstop to first, Ramos out at second, Harper to third. | 3 | 0 |
| Uggla flied out to right. | 3 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Cincinnati - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Max Scherzer pitching for Washington | CIN | WSH |
| Cueto popped out to second. | 3 | 0 |
| Hamilton doubled to deep right center. | 3 | 0 |
| Hamilton stole third. | 3 | 0 |
| Phillips hit by pitch. | 3 | 0 |
| Votto singled to right, Hamilton scored, Phillips to third. | 4 | 0 |
| Frazier hit sacrifice fly to center, Phillips scored. | 5 | 0 |
| Bruce singled to right, Votto to second. | 5 | 0 |
| Jordan relieved Scherzer. | 5 | 0 |
| Peña flied out to left. | 5 | 0 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Johnny Cueto pitching for Cincinnati | CIN | WSH |
| Desmond tripled to deep left. | 5 | 0 |
| den Dekker struck out looking. | 5 | 0 |
| Jordan struck out looking. | 5 | 0 |
| Taylor struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cincinnati - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Taylor Jordan pitching for Washington | CIN | WSH |
| Suárez popped out to third. | 5 | 0 |
| Schumaker walked. | 5 | 0 |
| Cueto struck out bunting foul. | 5 | 0 |
| Hamilton grounded out to pitcher. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Johnny Cueto pitching for Cincinnati | CIN | WSH |
| Espinosa struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| Harper struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| Ramos grounded out to second. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cincinnati - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Taylor Jordan pitching for Washington | CIN | WSH |
| Phillips safe at first on error by third baseman Espinosa. | 5 | 0 |
| Votto lined out to center. | 5 | 0 |
| Frazier struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| Bruce struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Johnny Cueto pitching for Cincinnati | CIN | WSH |
| Robinson grounded out to second. | 5 | 0 |
| Uggla struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| Desmond struck out looking. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cincinnati - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Taylor Jordan pitching for Washington | CIN | WSH |
| Peña singled to center. | 5 | 0 |
| Suárez singled to left, Peña to second. | 5 | 0 |
| Schumaker grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Suárez out at second, Peña to third. | 5 | 0 |
| Cueto grounded out to pitcher. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Johnny Cueto pitching for Cincinnati | CIN | WSH |
| Bourgeois in left field. | 5 | 0 |
| den Dekker grounded out to second. | 5 | 0 |
| Moore hit for Jordan. | 5 | 0 |
| Moore grounded out to shortstop. | 5 | 0 |
| Taylor struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cincinnati - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Sammy Solis pitching for Washington | CIN | WSH |
| Solis relieved Jordan. | 5 | 0 |
| Hamilton grounded out to third. | 5 | 0 |
| Phillips grounded out to shortstop. | 5 | 0 |
| Votto grounded out to second. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Johnny Cueto pitching for Cincinnati | CIN | WSH |
| Espinosa grounded out to first. | 5 | 0 |
| Harper flied out to center. | 5 | 0 |
| Ramos grounded out to pitcher. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cincinnati Reds | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Phillips 2B | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 | .277 | .315 | .371 |
| Votto 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .281 | .390 | .492 |
| Frazier 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 18 | .281 | .338 | .590 |
| Bruce RF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 20 | .243 | .336 | .451 |
| Peña C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .291 | .357 | .332 |
| Suárez SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | .325 | .366 | .481 |
| Schumaker LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | .217 | .308 | .304 |
Bourgeois LF
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .143 | .143 | .143 |
| Cueto P | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .188 | .212 | .188 |
| Hamilton CF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | .221 | .271 | .290 |
| Totals | 35 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 133 | |||
| BATTING 2B: Votto (14, Scherzer); Hamilton (4, Scherzer) 3B: Bruce (3, Scherzer) HR: Votto (15, 3rd inning off Scherzer 0 on, 1 Out) RBI: Votto 3 (42), Bruce (41), Frazier (55) SF: Frazier GIDP: Schumaker Reds RISP: 3-8 (Bruce 1-1, Cueto 0-1, Frazier 0-1, Votto 2-2, Peña 0-2, Schumaker 0-1) Team LOB: 6 | ||||||||||
| BASERUNNING SB: Hamilton (42, 3rd base off Scherzer/Ramos) | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Votto (5, catch); Frazier (10, ground ball) DP: 1 (Phillips-Votto-Suárez-Votto). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. |
| Attendance | 31,898 (76.9% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 2:30 |
| Weather | 89 degrees, clear |
| Wind | 11 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Brian Knight, First Base - Larry Vanover, Second Base - Ron Kulpa, Third Base - Vic Carapazza |
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