Schoop's 9th-Inning HR Carries Orioles Past Nationals 3-2
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Jonathan Schoop hit a game-winning solo homer with two outs in the ninth inning as the Baltimore Orioles rallied past the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Friday night.
Adam Jones also homered for the Orioles, who trailed 2-1 in the eighth before coming back to earn their third win in the last 11 games.
Schoop drove a 2-2 pitch from Tanner Roark (4-4) into the seats in left field. Schoop has two homers in five games since being activated from the 60-day disabled list on Sunday.
As he reached the plate, the second baseman was mobbed by his teammates. He later received a pie in the face from Jones, the Orioles' traditional fashion of celebrating a rousing win at home.
Zach Britton (1-0) pitched a perfect eighth for Baltimore.
The interleague matchup between clubs located 40 miles apart on I-295 drew a sellout crowd of 46,289, the largest of the season at Camden Yards.
Washington starter Gio Gonzalez gave up one run, six hits and three walks in six-plus innings. The right-hander has yielded only two runs in his last 20 innings.
He was in position to get the win until Baltimore tied it in the eighth. After pinch-hitter Chris Parmelee reached against Casey Janssen on a broken-bat roller down the third base line, Matt Wieters greeted Matt Thornton with an RBI double to right-center.
Chris Tillman allowed two runs and eight hits over six innings, walking one and striking out six. The right-hander remained unbeaten in seven starts since May 31.
Limited to an infield single over the first four innings, the Nationals used a five-hit fifth to go up 2-1. Tyler Moore had a two-out RBI double and scored on a single by Michael Taylor.
One inning later, Tillman ended his outing by striking out Jose Lobaton with two outs and runners on the corners.
Washington's injury-depleted offense took another hit before the game when leadoff hitter Denard Span went on the 15-day disabled list with back spasms. He joins Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon on the DL.
In spite of this, and although they have scored no more than three runs in seven of their last eight games, the Nationals are in first place in the NL East.
Jones opened the scoring by hitting the first pitch in the Baltimore fourth into the seats in left. Later in the inning, J.J. Hardy grounded out for the second time with two outs and two runners on.
The three walks allowed by Gonzalez ended a run of 20 straight games in which Washington issued two walks or fewer, the second-longest such streak since 1900.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Nationals: Washington manager Matt Williams said an MRI on Span showed no structural damage, adding, "Hopefully in 15 days he'll be back."
Orioles: RHP Wesley Wright, who's on the 60-day DL with shoulder inflammation, pitched 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief Thursday for Triple-A Norfolk. It was the ninth game of his rehab assignment.
ON DECK
Nationals: RHP Jordan Zimmermann, whose wife gave birth to a girl on Friday, is expected to be activated from the paternity list to start Saturday night.
Orioles: RHP Miguel Gonzalez vies for his team-high eighth victory in his first career start against Washington.
(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)