Aaron Brooks throws six scoreless as O's blank Nats 2-0 (updated)

WASHINGTON - The Washington Nationals are pushing for a playoff berth. The Orioles are just trying to get better, as individuals and as a team.

Tonight, the last-place Orioles pulled off a baseball upset. The Nationals' expensive free agent lefty, Patrick Corbin, threw another strong game. But he was outdueled by an O's right-hander added July 6 on a waiver claim.

Aaron Brooks silenced the red-hot Nats bats on two hits over six innings as the Orioles blanked Washington 2-0 in front of 24,746 at Nats Park. Brooks and the O's bullpen made two first-inning runs stand up.

The Orioles (44-88) have won five of seven and are 2-1 this season against the Nationals. They now lead the all-time series 41-32.

"I just loved the way we pitched," manager Brandon Hyde said. "Yeah, it's a great win. There's no doubt about it. That's a really good ballclub, a playoff ballclub that's the hottest team in baseball right now, and coming off a sweep on the road, scoring 10 runs a game. To be able to come in and put zeros up for nine innings, it's a testament to our pitchers. I think some of our guys are getting better."

The game featured some real drama when rookie right-hander Hunter Harvey came on in the last of the eighth with a 2-0 lead. He fanned Asdrúbal Cabrera on a 99 mph fastball to strand bases loaded with two outs. Harvey gave up a one-out triple to Trea Turner and walked Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto before the big strikeout against Cabrera to keep Washington off the board. He's now thrown four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.

"It's great to see Hunter Harvey come up here and show elite back-end stuff," said Hyde. "I didn't want him to throw too many pitches. That was the problem. But I do want Hunter to experience Major League Baseball at the end of a game. Which is having to go through Rendon and Soto as the tying run and not giving in and able to compose himself. The last pitch he threw, the 33rd, was 99 (mph). So to be able to reach back and get Cabrera there is huge. It's just going to give him confidence."

Added Harvey: "It's kind of crazy. You don't always want to put yourself in that situation. I trusted Sevy (catcher Pedro Severino). He knows these guys pretty good. He played with them. I went with him, and I trusted him, and it worked out. It's been fun, a lot of fun. It's a whole different animal from starting. To be able to do it here has been pretty crazy."

Facing that steamroller of an offense was an O's right-hander who was 1-4 with an ERA of 8.07 in eight starts with the club. But maybe Brooks started to turn around his season last Wednesday against Kansas City, when he gave up one run over five innings.

Tonight, he was better.

Turner lined Brooks' second pitch for a single to center and then stole second base. But Brooks then fanned Adam Eaton, Rendon and Soto - all on sliders - to get his night rolling.

Brooks allowed a two-out bunt hit in the second, but retired the side in the third. Leading 2-0 thanks to two first-inning runs, he stranded two in the last of the fourth. He allowed a leadoff walk and hit a batter with two outs, but got out of that. He retired the last seven batters he faced.

The Orioles bullpen took it from there. Richard Bleier got the first two outs of the seventh and Miguel Castro got the last one. Harvey stranded them loaded in the eighth and Mychal Givens pitched the ninth and struck out two batters for his 11th save.

Brooks walked one and fanned six on 98 pitches, 60 strikes to improve to 4-7 with an ERA of 5.79 between Oakland and Baltimore. This was the O's fifth shutout.

"I think just changing speeds and eye levels (was key)," Brooks said. "I think it comes down the basics - timing is everything with hitting and I tried to disrupt the timing and fill up the zone as good as I can."

Corbin gave up just two runs and four hits over seven innings. But the O's pinned a loss on him for the first time since June 11. At one point, he retired 19 of 20 batters.

But he was down 2-0 after the top of the first. Hanser Alberto led off with a single and went to second when Trey Mancini was hit by a pitch. Then Anthony Santander's double to deep left made it 1-0 and made him 6-for-6 over the last two games. With one out, Jonathan Villar's sac fly doubled the lead. Good thing they got runs there because Corbin and his slider were dominant after that. But he falls to 10-6 with an ERA of 3.15.

The Nationals (73-58) saw a five-game win streak end and they lost for just the third time in 13 games and fifth in 20.

More postgame quotes:

Hyde on Harvey's walks of Rendon and Soto in the eighth: "He wasn't going to let Soto beat him. Two guys that are superstar players in the league that are on fire right now, and he wasn't just giving in and throwing middle-middle fastball. He was actually trying to pitch to the corners. If he doesn't get him, he moves on to the next guy. And that's what he did."

Hyde on Brooks throwing well in his last two starts: "I just think he's more composed on the mound. He's not overthrowing. The delivery is cleaner. He's locating his pitches instead of trying to overthrow. He threw a bunch of good changeups tonight. Just loved the way he pitched. And I thought we played good defense behind him also."

Brooks on allowing one run his last two starts: "Been working a lot with (pitching coach Doug) Brocail and Was (bullpen coach John Wasdin) out there. Getting comfortable with my mechanics. Just staying within myself and knowing what my strengths and weaknesses are. For me, I think it's been effort level. Just try not to overthrow and it seems to put all the pitches in the same category and look the same. So I think it's' starting to help out a little bit."

Harvey on whether he had any issues throwing so many pitches: "No, I don't think so. I started at the beginning of the year, so I was throwing 95 pitches in four, five, six innings, so I feel pretty good, and nothing feels out of the ordinary."

Harvey on pitching in what seemed like a save situation: "Yeah, that was pretty fun, especially having the crowd going crazy. It really had the adrenaline pumping."