WASHINGTON, DC -- When two Reds players approached manager Dusty Baker to say they wanted to hold a players-only meeting before Sunday's game, he took no issue.

"As long as they ask for permission, which they did," Baker said. "We used to do that [with the Dodgers], except we didn't ask for permission. We just kicked [Tommy] Lasorda out."

Even though he held one himself on Friday, Baker doesn't like meetings.

"I think we overmeet as a society," he said. "You can talk, but you have to follow through with your talking and take it into action. I've done some motivational speaking for a long time. The first thing I tell them is, I can only motivate you for a little while. Motivation comes from within. What I can do is ignite your pilot light so it burns itself on the inside."

Some familiar issues doused that flame rather quickly in a 4-2 loss to the Nationals, who swept the three-game series. With two outs in the first inning, Washington scored all four of its runs, aided in part by another Reds' fielding error.

"It's very frustrating, because we're making stupid mistakes," said left fielder Adam Dunn, who committed the error. "We're beating ourselves. They're making every single play in the field and we're making none."

Reds starter Johnny Cueto struck out the first two batters of the game but couldn't hold down a two-out rally. Lastings Milledge hit a 2-1 pitch over the heart of the plate for a home run to left field. Austin Kearns hit an infield chopper for a single and Kory Casto added a single.

Dunn misplayed the hop on Pete Orr's low liner to left field, allowing the ball to bounce to the warning track and two runs to score.

"That ball is hit at me, and I should at least be able to knock it down," said Dunn, who committed the Reds' 85th error of the season, second most in the National League. "I couldn't even do that."

Wil Nieves kept the first inning going when he blooped an RBI single to shallow right field between Jay Bruce and second baseman Brandon Phillips, who lost the ball in the bright sky.

Cueto gave up no more runs but was finished after six innings. Of the four runs allowed, three were earned, with seven hits and a walk. He struck out four and hit a batter.

Letting the other team score first has been an issue with the Reds all season and Baker had addressed that point before the Reds took the field on Sunday.

"I keep track of the game where we are in our lineup to their lineup," Baker said. "They've come to the plate 1 1/2 to two times more than we've come up. That equals the big boys coming to the plate five times vs. four times. The more times they come to the plate, the more times you've got problems."

The Reds created many of their own offensive problems against Nationals starter Collin Balester. The runs came on solo home runs by Joey Votto in the sixth and Corey Patterson in the ninth. Yet Cincinnati was 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven.

In the second inning with one out, Phillips got picked off second base before Patterson struck out. Runners were on first and second base with no outs in the fourth when Phillips grounded into a double play. After Votto's homer in the sixth, runners were on first and second with one out but no more runs scored.

If there was ever a time to hold a players-only meeting, this was it. The Reds finished 1-5 on their six-game road trip with the Astros and Nationals -- two teams that were in last place -- and have lost eight of their past nine. Even after the sweep, Washington (41-70) has the Majors' worst record.

Plus, had Baker said no to the request, it might have made him appear paranoid.

"I remember [former Giants manager] Roger Craig telling me as a coach, 'Don't let your players hold meetings. It looks like you've lost the team,'" Baker said. "I love Roger Craig, and thanks for the advice, but I never believed in that. If you feel secure in yourself and secure in your leadership abilities, you don't worry about it. You're looking for somebody to take control in there."

The purpose of Baker's meeting on Friday was to address the club's poor defensive play and to get his players past Thursday's trade of Ken Griffey Jr.

When he holds the occasional meeting, Baker rarely hears players speak up.

"If I'm not in there, I'm hoping everybody has something to say," Baker said. "We have some young guys. Sometimes they need to hear it from a player. We heard it from Hank [Aaron]."

Dunn believed the 25-minute players' meeting accomplished something, but he would not divulge any details about what was said inside the clubhouse. Clearly, the Reds have plenty of work to do to keep the final two months of the season from slipping away.

"We're obviously in the same spot -- we're not winning," Dunn said. "That's the frustrating thing about this. It's not like we're not playing hard. We're playing hard. We're just not getting it done. Trying hard doesn't get it done up here. It's all about production and being able to do it. We're not doing it."