It was a tough night at Great American Ball Park as the Cincinnati Reds fell to the Washington Nationals 10-4 in the series opener on May 12. For Reds fans hoping for a rebound, this game offered little comfort—especially with another injury scare hitting the pitching staff.

Starting pitcher Brady Singer became the latest concern after taking a 106.7 mph line drive off his right foot in the second inning. The ball, off the bat of Louisville native Daylen Lile, sent Singer to the ground and brought out manager Terry Francona and an athletic trainer. After some time and a few warmup tosses, Singer stayed in the game. But given the Reds' already banged-up rotation, no one was breathing easy.

Washington's offense was relentless, with Luís Garcia Jr. and Lile each launching two home runs. James Wood added another, and in the eighth inning, Brady House crushed a two-run shot to right-center field for the Nationals' sixth homer of the night.

The Reds had their chances early. Down 3-0 in the fourth, they loaded the bases with no outs but managed only two runs—one coming on a Washington error. It was that kind of night: Cincinnati finished 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Trailing just 3-2 in the fifth, the game slipped away when Garcia and Lile went back-to-back off reliever Sam Moll, with Lile's three-run blast making it 7-2. Every Reds reliever who took the mound—Moll, Luis Mey, Connor Phillips, Tony Santillan, and Pierce Johnson—allowed at least one run.

The loss drops Cincinnati to 22-20, a stark contrast from their 20-11 start on April 30. Now sitting at 2-9 in May, the Reds are searching for answers as they look to turn things around in the series.