GAME 70 REVIEW: Nats Defeat Orioles 8-4 to Start Interleague Series

By Anthony Amobi, Special to Nats News Network

WASHINGTON - The Washington Nationals are on quite the roll. After a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals this week, they played hosts to the struggling Baltimore Orioles on Friday night to start another interleague match-up of the "Battle of the Beltway."

They won their seventh straight game, an remarkable feat considering their struggles since the beginning of the season as they defeated the Orioles, 8-4.

Once again, Washington's offense came through as came through with hits when they needed and got some help from the bullpen.

The second largest home game of season attendance after Opening Day with a crowd of 35,562 - with a healthy mix of orange and black, sprinkled in with red - sat through a rain delay of under an hour before the game on Friday night. When things got started, it was one wacky game.

The Nationals (34-36), who have been getting very strong outings from their starting pitching, saw Jason Marquis push through his five-innings plus on the mound. He gave up 12 hits on the night; however, despite that note, he only gave up four runs. Marquis was constantly on a tight rope, but he managed to avoid allowing his team in go into a hole. He would not factor in the decision.

On the night, it seemed that the Orioles (31-36) - despite pounding 18 hits - handed the game to the Nationals. In a sense, they buried themselves with errors, an alarming pitching performance in the bottom of the sixth inning, and a confounding inability to push runners across home plate. The Nationals would take advantage of it.

With the score tied at four in the sixth inning, Baltimore reliever, Jeremy Accardo, walked Wilson Ramos to start the frame. He would then give up an RBI-double to Wilson Ramos that gave Washington a 5-4 lead.

Accardo would help the Nationals again as he walked reliever Sean Burnett - who was trying square up for a clear sacrifice bunt - on four pitches. The Nationals would take a 6-4 lead, as Jayson Werth plated in Hairston with a single. They would add another run in the frame as Ian Desmond's sacrifice drove in Werth.

Accardo (3-3) would take the loss.

Washington would sail to an easy victory from there as Burnett returned to the mound and did not allow Baltimore to do any damage. He would earn the win and the trio of Henry Rodriguez, Tyler Clippard and Ryan Mattheus, kept the Orioles off the scoreboard.

The Nationals took an 8-4 lead as Roger Bernadina hit his third homer of the season - a solo shot - off Oriole reliever Michael Gonzalez in the eighth inning.

Although the record shows that Washington won, they did not have a strong start to the game. Baltimore plated two runs in the fourth inning as Robert Andino had an RBI-single, and pitcher Zach Britton followed up with an RBI-double.

However, Baltimore's lead would be short lived as Washington scored four runs in the fifth inning. Wilson Ramos singled to start the frame, and then Marquis squared up for a bunt. Marquis' offering was fielded by Oriole third baseman Mark Reynolds; however, he threw the ball past first base. Ramos motored around the bases and scored; thereafter, Marquis would come home after a Bernadina groundout.

The Nationals added two more runs in the frame after back-to-back RBI-singles from Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman.

Washington allowed Baltimore to tie the game at four as Vladimir Guerrero plated in a run with an RBI-single and J.J. Hardy followed up with a sacrifice fly.

Reliever Todd Coffey - who came in for Marquis in the sixth inning - gave up the hits that allowed the Orioles to score their third and fourth runs of the game; however, Burnett (3-3) was brought in after that and closed out the frame.

Meanwhile, Baltimore starting starter, rookie Zach Britton, pitched well, as he went five innings and gave up four runs - only one earned. He got killed thanks to a huge error in the fifth inning.

For Washington, Jerry Hairston had a huge night, going 3-for-3, and Ian Desmond had two hits, plus drove in two runs.