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Major League Baseball
Washington 12, Cincinnati 1
When: 1:35 PM ET, Sunday, July 3, 2016
Where: Nationals Park, Washington, District of Columbia
Temperature: 75°
Umpires: Home - Adrian Johnson, 1B - Ramon De Jesus, 2B - Gary Cederstrom, 3B - Eric Cooper
Attendance: 37328

WASHINGTON -- An ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) Award is given out annually to note individual and team athletic performances.

It may be time to give Espy -- that would be Washington shortstop Danny Espinosa -- an ESPY.

The switch-hitter from California hit a homer from each side of the plate for the second time in four days as the Washington Nationals hit a season-high six homers to beat the Cincinnati Reds 12-1 on Sunday to take three of four games in the series.

"I am definitely enjoying it. I am staying who I am," Espinosa said. "I am not going to go crazy. Playing every day helps a lot. You feel confident; that is probably the biggest thing."

Espinosa, who went 4-for-5, had a grand slam to go with his six RBIs. He also hit a grand slam on Thursday against the Reds while going deep from each side of the plate.

"I have seen Espy since his freshman year in college (at Long Beach State). He is such a competitor. I'm so happy for him," said Washington starter Stephen Strasburg, who had a no-hitter Sunday when he was lifted with two outs in the seventh by manager Dusty Baker.

The San Diego State product threw 109 pitches and 70 for strikes before Baker called for Blake Treinen to take over for Strasburg. Strasburg came off the disabled list earlier in the day after dealing with an upper-back strain.

"I understand. I understand where he's coming from," Strasburg said of the decision by Baker.

Matt Belisle entered in the eighth for the Nationals and gave up a clean single to left by Ramon Cabrera to break up the team no-hitter. Zack Cozart also singled, and Jose Peraza drove in a run with an RBI single later in the frame to make it 11-1.

Strasburg (11-0, 2.71 ERA), who struck out five and walked four, is the last qualifying starter in the majors who does not have a loss. He has won 14 games in a row dating back to last year and is the first National League starter to begin the year 11-0 since Andy Hawkins of the San Diego Padres in 1985.

"We had some good at-bats in the first inning," said Bryan Price, the Reds manager. Strasburg "was kind of able to get himself righted and get some quick outs. We just grinded through the seventh inning. He did a nice job after being out a couple of weeks."

Third baseman Anthony Rendon of the Nationals made a leaping catch on a liner off the bat of Billy Hamilton to begin the top of the fifth. Rendon also caught a liner to start the sixth hit 103 miles-per-hour by Zack Cozart to keep the no-hitter intact for Strasburg.

Bryce Harper added two hits, including a solo homer to lead off the fifth off starter John Lamb that gave the Nationals a lead of 6-0. Wilson Ramos had three hits, including an RBI double in the fifth that made it 7-0. Espinosa had an RBI single off reliever Keyvius Sampson later in the inning for an 8-0 bulge.

Daniel Murphy (two hits) had an RBI single in the sixth to build the margin to 9-0. Rendon, who also had two hits, and Espinosa hit back-to-back homers in the seventh off Sampson to make it 11-0. Stephen Drew homered in the eighth off Jumbo Diaz to make it 12-1.

Lamb loaded the bases on three walks in a row to start the fourth. Espinosa, the No. 8 hitter in the lineup, then lined a 2-2 pitch over the wall in left for a grand slam and a 5-0 lead.

"He made a mistake out over the plate to Espinosa, who killed us all series," Price said. "He hit his second grand slam of the series. He was hitting a lot of mistakes. That is what you do when you hit well."

Ramos hit a solo homer in the second to put Washington on the board. It was his 13th homer of the year and came on a 74 mph changeup from Lamb that landed in the Reds bullpen over the left-field fence as a harbinger of an afternoon of longballs.

Lamb (1-5) was the loser as his ERA rose to 5.43 after he gave up eight runs and eight hits (including three homers) in 4 1/3 innings. The Nationals (50-32) have won seven of their last eight games while the Reds (30-53) have lost six of their last seven. Washington had 15 hits while the Reds had just three.

Espinosa now has a team-high 18 homers -- one more than Harper.

"It is unreal. It is crazy," Espinosa said.

NOTES: Washington RHP Stephen Strasburg (10-0, 2.90 ERA) came off the 15-day disabled list to make the start Sunday against the Reds. His previous outing came June 15 in a no-decision against the Chicago Cubs when he went seven innings and allowed six hits and one earned run. To make room for Strasburg on the roster, the Nationals placed RHP Joe Ross (7-4, 3.49) on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation after he started Saturday. ... Reds LHP Cody Reed (0-2, 9.00 ERA) will start Monday at Chicago against Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (6-6, 2.76). ... Reds bench coach Jim Riggleman grew up in nearby Rockville, Md., and was the manager of the Nationals from 2009-11. ... Reds 1B Joey Votto, who was scratched from the starting lineup Saturday with a sore right shoulder, was back in the lineup Sunday and hit third. ... Cincinnati RF Jay Bruce entered the game with 60 RBIs, the most before the All-Star break for the Reds since 2013. ... Washington RHP Max Scherzer (9-5, 3.30 ERA) will face Milwaukee RHP Junior Guerra (5-1, 3.25 ERA) on Monday at Nationals Park.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Cincinnati   Washington
John Lamb Player Stephen Strasburg
Loss W/L Win
4.1 IP 6.2
5 Strikeouts 5
8 Hits 0
16.62 ERA 0.00
Hitting
Cincinnati   Washington
Ramon Cabrera Player Danny Espinosa
1 Hits 4
0 RBI 6
0 HR 2
1 TB 10
.333 Avg .800
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Cincinnati 3 0 3 .100 15 8 1 4 0 0
Washington 15 6 34 .405 14 7 12 5 0 0