Wang's strong outing lost in walk-off shuffle Righty tosses six innings; Ramos belts three-run home run By Bill Ladson / MLB.com | 8/27/2011 12:22 AM ET CINCINNATI -- Miguel Cairo's single in the bottom of the ninth inning helped the Reds defeat the Nationals, 4-3, at Great American Ball Park on Friday night. The game was tied at 3 when Cincinnati scored the winning run off reliever Collin Balester, who was the first to say that he was too predictable on the mound. He said he threw almost nothing but fastballs. With one out, Drew Stubbs singled to left field before Todd Frazier followed with a single, putting runners on first and second. Cairo came to the plate and swung at a 1-0 pitch, roping the ball to left-center field and scoring Stubbs to end the game. "You obviously don't want to go out there and lose the game for the team, but I have to mix it up a little more. You just can't throw all fastballs," Balester said. "They know when a fastball is coming, so I have to throw more offspeed pitches and not be so predictable. I was throwing fastballs in fastballs counts. They hit the ball well, and they won the game." The loss spoiled another solid outing by right-hander Chien-Ming Wang. Manager Davey Johnson often talks about how much he wants to see Wang make progress after missing almost two years with shoulder problems. On Friday, Wang showed that he is getting stronger. He pitched six innings, allowing two runs -- one of which was earned -- on six hits. He struck out two batters and walked four. "I thought he threw a strong game," Johnson said. "It looks like he got stronger as the game went on. If the game was a little different, I would have gone another inning with him. But he pitched a great game." The unearned run occurred in the second inning. With one out, Frazier reached base on an error by shortstop Ian Desmond. Three batters later, Frazier would score the first run of the game on a single by Brandon Phillips. Wang would cruise until the sixth inning. He retired the first two hitters he faced but walked Paul Janish and allowed a single to his counterpart, Dontrelle Willis, before Janish came home on a single by Phillips. "I felt today that the sinker had good movement. I kept it down," Wang said through an interpreter. "Location is good. I can throw the ball more easily. The shoulder feels better. The biggest problem is the release point. I think I can get a good release point." The Nationals gave Wang the lead with three runs in the fourth inning, when Wilson Ramos swung at a 1-0 pitch and hit a three-run homer over the right-field wall. It was Ramos' 11th home run of the season. The home run broke a 1-for-35 slide with runners in scoring position. "The three-run home run, I thought it was a good pitch, and he put a good swing, so hat's off to him," Willis said. "Those are the types of games where you have to bear down and focus and not let it be 5-0, 5-1, 6-1, or kind of let the game get out of reach." Willis didn't let the game get out of reach. He lasted seven innings and allowed the three runs. But Johnson was disappointed that his club didn't make Willis pay for allowing several baserunners. In fact in the first three innings, the Nationals went a combined 0-for-6 with a walk with runners in scoring position. For the game, Washington went 1-for-13. "I thought he was very hittable, but he was out there a long time," Johnson said. "I thought we would do better than we did. It was just the one blow. He threw a bunch of pitches and kept them in the game." Desmond is convinced that the law of averages will be on the Nationals' side soon. "Sometimes you are going to get hits, sometimes you are not. Right now, we are not," Desmond said. "You can hold us down but for so long. The numbers are going to change our way." Wang would end up with a no-decision as the Reds came back and tied the score in the seventh inning off Tom Gorzelanny. With runners on first and second and two outs, Frazier singled to center, scoring Jay Bruce to tie the score at 3. With the loss, the Nationals' record dropped to 62-68. Bill Ladson is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, All Nats All the time He also could be found on Twitter @WashingNats. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. http://tinyurl.com/3pp2n7e --

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