CINCINNATI — Aristides Aquino drove in TJ Friedl from second base with a game-ending single off the glove of second baseman Luis Garcia, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Washington Nationals 8-7 in 11 innings Friday night.
Aquino’s sharp one-hopper off Mason Thompson (1-2) trickled into short right field.
Despite the victory, the Reds fell further behind St. Louis for the second NL wild card because the streaking Cardinals swept a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs. Cincinnati is six games back of the Redbirds with eight to play - and Philadelphia in between.
Art Warren (3-0) escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 11th with help from an alert defensive play by Joey Votto.