Arroyo allows one hit in eight innings as Reds win

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Everything, it seems, is going right for

Bronson Arroyo and the Cincinnati Reds these days. And all is amiss

for the Washington Nationals.

Arroyo threw eight innings of one-hit ball, and Cincinnati

jumped out to an early lead just as they did all series in a 5-0

victory over Washington on Wednesday that completed a three-game

sweep.

Arroyo improved to 4-0 with a 2.34 ERA in five starts, allowing

only Ryan Zimmerman's single to right-center with two outs in the

fourth.

The right-hander left after 119 pitches -- "I was running out of

juice," he said -- and Kent Mercker and David Weathers combined for

a hitless ninth.

"I went out there today and was warming up in the 'pen, and I

knew I had good stuff," Arroyo said. "When you've got good stuff,

especially playing in a park like this, that's so big, you can be

really aggressive and kind of go after these guys."

He struck out eight and walked two in his latest impressive

outing since a spring training trade from the Red Sox. Arroyo was

headed to Boston's bullpen when he was dealt for outfielder Wily Mo

Pena.

"It's a little different vibe," Arroyo said. "Being in

Boston, you're expected to win every night. Here, they're picking

us to run neck-and-neck with the Pirates in last place."

Thanks to Arroyo and the majors' highest-scoring offense, the

Reds are 15-7, including four consecutive victories to cap a 6-1

road trip. They scored a total of seven first-inning runs in the

opening two games at Washington, and went up 4-0 by the fourth on

Wednesday off Ramon Ortiz (0-3).

David Ross got things going with an upper-deck homer in the

third inning, his third homer in 25 at-bats. The Reds tacked on

three the next inning, when they batted around and were helped by

poor fielding by the Nationals.

And what about those Nationals? The team that was the feel-good

story for much of 2005, leading the NL East into July in its first

season in Washington, dropped to 7-14 with a fourth straight loss.

Emblematic of their recent problems, the Nationals had more

errors in one inning (two in the fourth) than hits in the entire

game.

"You can't keep going like this and saying, 'Well, it's early.

It's going to come around.' We need to get results," manager Frank

Robinson said, "and we need to get them starting tomorrow."

That won't necessarily be easy, given that the Nationals play

Thursday at St. Louis, and their starter will be Mike O'Connor, a

left-hander making his major league debut. On three days' rest, to

boot.

There's more: John Patterson, Washington's top starter so far,

is being skipped in the rotation in St. Louis because of a strained

right forearm, and he said Wednesday he's not sure when he'll be

able to pitch next.

And then, of course, there's still the pending question of who

will buy the Nationals. A local TV station report about which of

eight bidders will get the team -- a report categorically denied by

Major League Baseball -- made the rounds in the clubhouse.

Washington fell to 1-7 at home this season, and once again

played before a sparse crowd at 46,382-capacity RFK Stadium. The

announced attendance was 19,380, meaning each of the past four

games drew thinner crowds than the smallest of 2005.

"We need to start performing the way this team is capable of

and what we expect -- and that's pitching, defense and hitting,"

Robinson said. "Until we do that, we're going to get beat."

On Wednesday, Arroyo did have the benefit of not having to face

two of Washington's best hitters, Jose Vidro and Jose Guillen, who

didn't start. Still, Arroyo has established himself as the ace of a

staff that doesn't have another member of the rotation with an ERA

under 4.50.

"It should take a lot of pressure off the other guys," Reds

manager Jerry Narron said. "The other thing is, just watching him

pitch, how he throws strikes, how he commands the baseball, I think

that has got to wear off on guys."Game notes
Nationals RHP Jon Rauch registered four strikeouts in the

eighth inning: Ross, Arroyo, Felipe Lopez (who reached on a

third-strike wild pitch) and Adam Dunn. It's the 48th time in major

league history a pitcher had four Ks in an inning, and first since

Aug. 3, 2004, when current Nationals LHP Mike Stanton did it for

the Mets against the Brewers. ... Washington LF Alfonso Soriano

went 0-for-4, ending his 11-game hitting streak. ... It was

Cincinnati's first one-hitter since Aug. 19, 1999, when Pete

Harnisch (eight innings) and Scott Williamson (one) combined to do

it against Pittsburgh. ... ... In response to a report about the

sale of the Nationals, MLB president Bob DuPuy issued a statement

saying: "No decision has been made to date. The commissioner and I

continue to meet with representatives of the groups and there will

be an official announcement when the decision is made."