Field Level Media
Aug 15, 2020
Rio Ruiz homered while Hanser Alberto and Pedro Severino both knocked in two runs as the Baltimore Orioles defeated the visiting Washington Nationals 7-3 on Saturday night.
The Orioles again received good pitching. Starter Asher Wojciechowski (1-2) threw five-plus innings and gave up three runs on five hits.
The bullpen took care of the rest, going the last four frames and giving up no runs on one hit and rebounding from Friday's 15-3 thrashing in the first game of the series.
Cole Sulser took care of the final four outs and received his fifth save this season as he's slowly developing into a closer.
Patrick Corbin (2-1) struggled throughout his five-inning start, falling behind early. That stopped Washington from being able to catch up. He allowed five runs on eight hits and needed 94 pitches to get through those five frames.
Baltimore took an early 4-0 by scoring twice in each of the first two innings.
Severino lined a two-run double in the first. In the second, Andrew Velazquez tripled in a run followed by Alberto's sacrifice fly.
Juan Soto cut the lead in half with a two-run homer in the fourth that pulled Washington within 4-2. But Ruiz answered with a solo homer in the bottom half of the frame.
Trea Turner homered on the first pitch of the top of the sixth, and that ended Wojciechowski's night.
The Orioles came back in the sixth with Alberto's RBI double for a 6-3 lead. Jose Iglesias drove in Baltimore's last run on a single in the eighth.
The Nationals put pitcher Stephen Strasburg on the 10-day injured list with carpal tunnel neuritis of the right hand and brought back pitcher Ryne Harper from the alternating training site (Fredericksburg, Va.). Strasburg left in the first inning on Friday.
The Orioles lost starting center fielder Austin Hays with a non-displaced rib fracture and put him on the 10-day injured list. Also, they activated recently-acquired right-hander Jorge Lopez plus outfielder Cedric Mullins, while optioning lefty Keegan Aikin to their alternate training site.
--Field Level Media