Nationals' Comeback Bid Falls Short Against Orioles
WASHINGTON (AP) — Daniel Murphy tried to set the stage for a dramatic rally, but even the first grand slam of his career wasn't enough juice to get the Washington Nationals out of their funk.
Murphy hit a grand slam as part of a five-run ninth inning, but the Nationals fell short in a 10-8 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Washington has lost three in a row to Baltimore this week and six of its past nine overall.
Despite that, the Nationals still lead the NL East by seven games over the Miami Marlins, and the almost-comeback had manager Dusty Baker feeling better in spite of another defeat.
"The thing I'm proud of my team about is we lost the game, but I mean they showed a lot of fight," Baker said. "If you keep fighting like that, you're going to win a lot of ballgames. I mentioned to some of the guys, good teams got to come back. And come back we did."
Trailing 10-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, the Nationals got singles from Danny Espinosa and pinch-hitter Clint Robinson, and a walk to Jayson Werth set up Murphy's 24th home run of the season, the grand slam off Parker Bridwell.
"Great at-bats in front of me," Murphy said. "J.W .works a great at bat, Clint comes off the bench, hits a bullet and I got a pitch in the middle of the plate. Fortunately I didn't miss it."
Murphy's grand slam forced the Orioles to turn to closer Zach Britton, who was on a streak of 43 consecutive appearances without giving up an earned run. That ended when Bryce Harper singled and Anthony Rendon drove him in with an RBI double, the first run Britton gave up since April 30.
Britton got Ryan Zimmerman to ground into a game-ending double play, making Washington starter Tanner Roark (13-7) lament his rough start. Roark said he wasn't at his best in giving up five runs, four earned, on seven hits in five-plus innings.
Roark hit three of the first 14 batters he faced and allowed a two-run home run to Manny Machado before settling down.
"He's usually not as erratic as he was tonight," Zimmerman said. "He can't be great every single time. He did battle. Kept us in the game for five innings. That's kind of typical of Tanner. Even when he doesn't have his good stuff, he battles and keeps us in the game. That was good to see him do that."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Orioles: OF Joey Rickard is set to see the doctor Sept. 2 to determine how his right thumb ligament injury is progressing. Manager Buck Showalter hopes Rickard will be back before the end of the season. ... LHP Brian Duensing (left elbow inflammation) threw seven pitches in an inning in the Gulf Coast League, Showalter said.
Nationals: INF Stephen Drew saw an inner ear specialist to get a shot in his ear, according to team broadcaster MASN. He has been out since late July with vertigo.
HARPER HOLDS MEDALS
Harper became Katie Ledecky's medal holder while the swimmer threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Ledecky, who won one silver and four gold medals at the Rio Olympics, handed them to Harper before throwing to reliever Shawn Kelley.
TURN, TURN, TURN
With his single in the seventh, Trea Turner tied the Montreal Expos/Nationals franchise record with hits in eight consecutive plate appearances. Andre Dawson and Dmitri Young remained in the record books when Turner struck out in the ninth to finish his day 4 for 5.
UP NEXT
With Chris Tillman on the disabled list, the Orioles turn to RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (5-10, 6.94 ERA) to make his first start since July 28. He'll face Nationals RHP Max Scherzer (13-7, 3.05).
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