Wrapping up a 4-0 loss

WASHINGTON - Adam Jones was removed from tonight's game in the ninth inning due to cramping in his hamstring, according to manager Buck Showalter, who didn't want to take any chances with his center fielder.

Jones said he will play in Friday's series opener in New York and, in typical fashion, changed the subject to the starting pitcher.

Pedro Alvarez pinch-hit for Jones after Hyun Soo Kim's leadoff double in the ninth and bounced out. Kim moved to third and was stranded, and the Orioles were unable to move into a three-way tie for first place in the American League East.

The Orioles went 3-1 in the home-and-home series against the Nationals and are 70-57 overall.

Ubaldo Jimenez allowed one run and five hits in six innings, with no walks and four strikeouts, but fell to 5-11 with a 6.62 ERA.

The Orioles could make two pitching moves before Friday night's game. Logan Ondrusek won't be available after throwing 32 pitches and Mike Wright hasn't worked on back-to-back nights.

Ondursek was charged with three runs in the eighth inning, the last two on Bryce Harper's two-run double off Wright.

Brad Brach was available tonight, but Showalter said he didn't want to use the right-hander with the Orioles down 1-0. Showalter noted Brach's 55 appearances and the desire to keep him healthy.

It's apparent that without Darren O'Day, Showalter wants to use Brach and Mychal Givens when the Orioles are holding a lead.

Let's get to the postgame comments:

Jones on hamstring and Ubaldo Jimenez: "I'm good. I want to talk about how Ubaldo threw the ball. He went out there and I'm pretty sure many people didn't expect him to do what he did. Six innings. One pitch I know he wants to have back, but he threw the hell out of the ball. I'm good, so it doesn't matter."

Jones on whether swinging early against Scherzer is best approach: "Just try to get a pitch to hit and hit it. If it's early, it's early. That's my approach. It doesn't matter what the count is. If it's a good pitch to hit, I'm hacking. He's one of the best pitchers in baseball, especially attacking the strike zone, getting strike one. And once he gets two strikes he knows how to put you away. So try to avoid that."

Jones on whether he'll play tomorrow: "Yeah."

Jones on taking three of four from the Nats: "Good series for us. We took it to a good team and tonight they took it to us. I think overall it was a good series. We played very well. Pitchers threw the ball extremely well. Now let's go to New York and do the same thing. Important series."

Jimenez on his outing: "It's been a while since I've started. I felt good. I was able to command the fastball, throw the breaking ball behind the count. Everything was good."

Jimenez on whether it was gratifying: "It felt really good to be there for the team when they needed it the most, especially right now that Tilly (Chris Tillman) went down. It felt good that I was able to compete and give them a chance to be close in the score."

Jimenez on being in a pitchers' duel: "As a starting pitcher, that's one of the games that you dream of, because it gets you going. You have to bring your A-game, because that guy's tough to hit. You have to go out there and compete. He was good."

Jimenez on possibility of earning another start: "That's everything I've done in my career, start. I know why I was put in the bullpen, but it's very good to have this one and the one in Minnesota, too. Hopefully, I get some more, but wherever they put me, I'm going to try to do the best I can to be there for the team."

Steve Pearce on Scherzer, who allowed two hits and struck out 10 in eight innings: "Obviously, he threw mostly fastballs. He's mixing it up, throwing everything for strikes. He was locked in and he was throwing everything for strikes and getting all our hitters off balance."

Pearce on frustration of only being down 1-0: "It's definitely frustrating because as hitters we're trying to get him out of his rhythm. We struggled tonight doing it. He did a good job. He was getting ahead of every hitter and put us away on five pitches."

Pearce on Jimenez: "He did great. It was fun playing behind him."

Showalter on Jimenez: "He was great. I think everybody was pulling for him. He's such a good young man, just needed it. I almost took him out after the fifth, but he said he felt good and wanted to go there. But we needed those six innings. We're still having trouble pitching that last inning. It's been a challenge for us, but Ubaldo kept us in the game. There's a game there to be won if we could keep that thing at 1-0."

Showalter on Jones: "He had a cramp in the hamstring in one leg. Felt it earlier in the game, and I just didn't like the description. I talked to him when he came off the field in the bottom of the eighth. It's just not worth taking a chance, because we really don't have much depth at that position either."

Showalter on not using Brach: "We were behind 1-0 and I don't like him pitching there. He's had (55) outings. We're going to keep him healthy and that's not a position that he's pitched in all year and he's not going to start tonight."

Showalter on whether Jimenez will get another start: "I haven't even gotten that far on. I don't know what else he has to do. It's a place where he's pitched well and a team he's pitched well against. We'll step back and take a look at it and continue to try to put our best foot forward. He certainly did tonight."