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O’s Take Two of Three from Nationals (Video Highlights)

pitcher standing on mound with orioles player running by in background
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The O’s took two of three in what was (for now) a rain-shortened series with the local “rival” Washington Nationals. It was a very well-played series between two very strong teams, each of whom figures to have plenty to say about the races in their respective divisions down the stretch.

Tuesday’s rainout was rescheduled for Monday, August 4, at Nats Park. The 7:00 PM game is right after the O’s end a brutal 16-game post-ASB stretch against Seattle, Oakland, and Anaheim, and right before they head to Toronto for three games. Fun.

Ah well, dem’s da breaks. As long as the O’s keep taking care of business, all will be right in Birdland.

Let’s take a look at the video highlights from the last three games…

 

Monday

Nelson Cruz gave the O’s a 2-0 lead in the top of the 4th:

Chris Tillman turned in a strong outing, allowing just two runs on five hits over 7.0 innings, while striking out six:

Of course, he had some help from his defense, including Manny Machado:

The two teams played to a 2-2 stalemate through 10 innings, but in the 11th, the O’s quickly turned a close game into a laugher thanks to three home runs. Chris Davis started things off…

Back to Machado for a second: The youngster collected his first career five-hit game, on his way to finishing the series 8-for-12 with two home runs.

 

Wednesday

Fresh off his extra-inning heroics on Monday, Davis got the Birds on the board after starter Bud Norris had allowed the Nationals to build a quick 2-0 lead in the first.

After the home run and the two-hit night on Wednesday, O’s fans are starting to build a little hope that maybe, possibly, Davis is going to get hot. Unfortunately, he went 0-for-4 on Thursday. Hopefully that was just a blip on the radar, and he really goes off on the Yankees this weekend.

Bud Norris struggled in his return from the DL, allowing five ER on six hits and lasting just 4.0 innings. He gave up two two-strike home runs that really hurt him. Here, he struck out Danny Espinosa:

The aforementioned Machado belted another home run to pull the O’s within 5-2:

Caleb Joseph made a nice catch where he ran into the wall behind home plate:

Alas, the Birds fell on Wednesday, 6-2.

 

Thursday

Steve Pearce, who played only in pinch-hit duty during the games in DC, came back to the lineup with a vengeance, taking Gio Gonzalez deep in his first AB. The home run ended a 21-innings scoreless streak by the Nats’ starter.

Gary Thorne – for some reason – was obsessed with the cleaning product “Spic And Span” for a good majority of the middle innings.

With two outs in the ninth inning, a runner on first, and the Birds clinging to a slim 4-3 lead, Jayson Werth fouled a Zach Britton pitch off his foot. He then stood outside the batter’s box composing himself for a good while, much to the chagrin of Buck Showalter:

Werth finally stepped back in and grounded into a force to end the game. He wouldn’t talk to reporters in the locker room later, but hopefully his foot is OK.

Thus ends a solid 2-1 series (again, for now) against a very good Nationals team. The O’s are now 50-41, their best record after 91 games since 1997, and have built a 3.0 game lead on the Toronto Blue Jays. The New York Yankees are right behind at 4.0 games back, and come to Camden Yards for a three-game set this weekend. The final series before the All-Star break presents the Birds a great chance to put some distance between themselves and the evil empire, and end the first “half” on a high note.

With the lineup and rotation the Yankees are trotting out these days (4/5 of their Opening Day starting rotation is on the DL, as is Carlos Beltran) they should scare nobody. They’re not a good team at the moment, and the Birds should beat their doors in.

That said, they’re still the Yankees, and crazy things happen.

See you at the Yard this weekend. Get loud for your first place O’s, Birdland!

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