The Skinny: The Washington Nationals fell to the crosstown rival, Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles pitching kept the Nationals offense in check and closed it out in the end, 5-3. The Nationals are now 18-25 this season.
The Pitching: Shawn Hill got the start on the mound for Washington and was less than stellar. Hill lasted only five innings and gave up all five Baltimore runs on eight hits and a pair of walks. The Washington offense gave him leads of 2-0 and 3-2 and he just couldn’t hold them. The bullpen threw the final three innings and gave up nothing to give the offense a chance to get them back into the game.
The Hitting: Ryan Zimmerman got things going early as he singled in two runs in the first inning to give the Nationals the early 2-0 lead. After the Orioles tied things up at two, Elijah Dukes hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to put the Nats up 3-2, it would be their final run of the game. Zimmerman led the way for the Nationals as he collected three hits and drove in the two runs in the first.
What’s Next?: The Nationals will get another shot at the Orioles tomorrow in Baltimore. Odalis Perez will start on the mound for Washington. Game time is 7:05pm.