WASHINGTON – Orioles starting pitchers were bound to do more than just a little bending. Even the tiniest cracks had to form.
The rotation had gone 22 consecutive innings without allowing a run until Joey Meneses’ hit-and-run single tonight in the second that plated Jesse Winker.
Corbin Burnes didn’t surrender another hit or run until the seventh. Light damage that weighed heavier with no offensive support.
The Nationals scored twice in the inning to provide insurance that wasn’t necessary in a 3-0 win over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 29,542.
The Orioles had allowed two runs or fewer in seven straight games, their longest streak since August 1980. But Meneses led off the seventh with a double and scored with one out on Eddie Rosario’s single, and another Nationals stolen base set up Trey Lipscomb’s RBI single and Burnes’ removal at 95 pitches.