Daniel Murphy slid into home plate in the third inning and clapped his hands with glee, with his no-longer white pants planted in the dirt like a 10-year-old’s during playground recess.
Murphy had just scored yet another run for the suddenly-potent Nationals, who erupted for six runs in the second inning and defeated the Cincinnati Reds 10-4 Thursday night at Nationals Park. Shortstop Trea Turner had two hits, including a homer, and drove in four runs and Bryce Harper blasted a long homer — his 26th — in the eighth.
Third-place Washington (55-53), which scored 24 runs Tuesday, has won three straight and six of its last eight contests.