Nationals start fast, finish off sweep of Reds

Lane Thomas capped a big series with a home run and three RBIs as the Washington Nationals swept a three-game set against the host Cincinnati Reds, winning 6-3 on Sunday.

CJ Abrams and Thomas hit the first two pitches of the game, and the first two of right-hander Lyon Richardson's career, for a pair of 400-foot homers. After the Nationals received a walk from Joey Meneses and a single from Keibert Ruiz, to put the first four hitters on base, they made it 4-0 in the opening inning on Jake Alu's single.

Thomas doubled in a run in the fourth and hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to give him eight RBIs in the series. He hit two home runs in the Nationals' 6-3 win in 10 innings on Friday.

Abrams finished with four of Washington's 10 hits, stole two bases, scored twice and drove in a run. Alu had two hits, a walk, a stolen base and drove in two runs.

The Nationals have won four straight and five of their last six games, while the Reds lost their sixth in a row.

Cincinnati got solo home runs from Joey Votto and TJ Friedl to trim their deficit to 4-3 after three innings, but Nationals starter Jake Irvin pitched out of further trouble after Cincinnati scored two runs in the second.

Irvin couldn't survive the fifth inning, however, exiting with runners on first and third with one out. Andres Machado, making his third scoreless appearance of the series, came on to get swinging strikeouts of Matt McLain and Christian Encarnacion-Strand.

Machado (3-0) got the win and combined with Robert Garcia, Jordan Weems and Kyle Finnegan to shut out the Reds for 4 2/3 innings on two hits -- both in the ninth inning -- and a walk. They struck out seven. Finnegan picked up his 17th save.

Richardson (0-1), who missed last season with Tommy John surgery, returned to make 19 starts through three levels in the minors, never going more than four innings. He was pressed into duty Sunday with an injury to Reds starter Ben Lively.

In three innings, Richardson allowed four runs on four hits and three walks. He struck out two.

Buck Farmer gave up a run on two hits and three walks in two-thirds of an inning out of Cincinnati's bullpen. Alex Young left with an unspecified injury in the eighth, and Lucas Sims came on to give up a double to Abrams and Thomas' sacrifice fly.