Daylen Lile’s 2-run homer in 10th sends Nationals to 8-7 win over Reds

Washington Nationals' Daylen Lile hits a two-run home run during the tenth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben Jackson)(AP/Ben Jackson)

CINCINNATI (AP) — Daylen Lile hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the 10th inning, Keibert Ruiz also went deep and the Washington Nationals rallied from an early five-run deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-7 on Wednesday night.

With his father in the stands at Great American Ball Park, Lile hit a 409-foot drive to right-center off Tony Santillan (1-2) to score automatic runner CJ Abrams. It was the third homer in two games and sixth of the season for the 23-year-old Lile, a second-year player from Louisville, Kentucky.

In the bottom of the 10th, Spencer Steer hit a line drive to the wall in left field that was caught by a fan. Umpires ruled that the fan had reached over the wall and called fan interference, giving Steer a double that scored automatic runner Sal Stewart. PJ Poulin then recorded the final two outs for his second save.

Tyler Stephenson hit a grand slam in the first inning that gave Cincinnati a 5-0 lead, but Washington tied the game two innings later. Joey Wiemer had an RBI double and Ruiz hit a two-run homer in a four-run second, and Wiemer drew a bases-loaded walk in the third.

In the bottom half, the Reds went ahead 6-5 on a throwing error by shortstop Abrams. The Nationals tied it again in the sixth on an RBI grounder by Luis García Jr.

Gus Varland (1-1) pitched a scoreless ninth.

Cincinnati has lost 10 of 12, while Washington improved to 15-9 on the road — including 3-2 on its current trip.

Up next

LHP Foster Griffin (4-1, 2.12 ERA) takes the mound for the Nationals on Thursday as they seek a three-game sweep. RHP Chase Burns (4-1, 2.11) starts for the Reds.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

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