Brach on the bullpen, Trumbo on his homers after the O's beat the Nationals

O's closer Zach Britton picked up yet another save last night as they beat the Nationals 4-3 in the first of four straight games between the teams. Britton is now 38-for-38 in save chances.

But the game was also saved in the eighth inning, although there is no save stat for the eighth. However Donnie Hart and Brad Brach combined to get three big outs then to hold the Orioles' lead.

Brach ended the inning with a huge strikeout of Ryan Zimmerman with Nats runners at second and third base. A base hit there and Washington probably gets the lead. But Brach threw a splitter at 90 mph to win that extended battle. It was one of the biggest moments of the night.

I asked Brach about the pitch sequence there.

"Threw a bunch of fastballs," he said. "Couple away, couple in, one up. He was fouling them all off. I didn't want him to shoot something the other way. You know, the changeup looked like the fastball and at the end kind of dipped. Just was able to miss his barrel and get the out right there.

"These games when we play the Nationals are a lot of fun. Good crowds. I feel like the atmosphere is probably the best all year, here and at Nationals Park. So it's exciting."

Earlier in the inning, Hart was called on to face two lefty batters. And not just any lefty hitters. First he faced Daniel Murphy, the National League's leading hitter, and then he faced the reigning NL MVP in Bryce Harper. In just his eighth big league game, Hart was solid. Murphy doubled to left but then Hart got Harper to bounce back to the mound. Hart fielded the comebacker and then got Murphy out at second after he strayed one or two steps toward third base. It was a savvy play and a huge out.

"Yeah, he did a good job against two All-Stars," Brach said of Hart. "That's a big spot there for a rookie, especially a guy that doesn't have many innings under his belt. So it goes to show you the confidence that Buck (Showalter) has in him."

Britton made quick work of the Nationals in the ninth. But he did that after pitching just 1/3 of an inning over the previous six games.

"I felt a little rusty, I guess," Britton said. "I threw a bullpen before the game and that helped a little bit. There are things I can do to stay ready. Obviously I want to be out there more often. Sometimes it doesn't happen. You can have a short burst of three or four outings in a row and then a week off. It is kind of something I have gotten used to the last three years."

At 38-for-38, Britton has tied Jose Mesa from the 1995 Cleveland Indians for fourth most saves in as many chances to start a year. That is since the save became a statistic in 1969.

So the Orioles bullpen locked the game down late with some big outs, but Britton also had some praise for right-hander Dylan Bundy after he got the win allowing two runs over six innings. Britton talked about Bundy's big impact since entering the O's rotation.

"It's been huge," Britton said. "Coming out of the bullpen he did a really good job and we knew it was just a matter of time for him to go into the rotation. Him bouncing back after maybe a so-so outing (against Boston), I think that is huge for a young pitcher. I've been there. That is a big challenge and he did a great job."

The Orioles scored three of their four runs via the longball Monday night as Jonathan Schoop hit a solo homer and Mark Trumbo blasted a two-run shot. Trumbo has homered four times in the last five games and he has seven homers and 15 RBIs his last 11 games.

That was No. 38 for Trumbo on the year. He is the major league leader in homers by three over Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion. No other player in baseball has hit more than 32 home runs. Trumbo was asked why he's been able to bash so many longballs in 2016.

"I think at times maybe the ballpark helped a little bit," Trumbo said. "But these were some of the things I wanted to do in the offseason. Wanted to drive the ball a little bit more in the air this year. That was kind of the mindset going into it. And all the offseason work was kind of geared towards that. You don't know if it is going to materialize but you hope it does. So far, so good."

The Orioles are now 9-5 in interleague play including a 3-3 mark at home while the Nationals are 11-6 versus the American League.

Schoop has homered in back-to-back games. With 20 homers, Schoop ties Roberto Alomar for most homers in a season by an Orioles second baseman. Alomar hit 22 (20 when playing second base) in 1996. In his career the Orioles are 38-10 when Schoop homers.

The Orioles now lead the all-time series with the Nationals 34-23 since they began playing in 2006. The Orioles are 15-6 versus the Nats since 2012. The teams have played 24 one-run contests and the Orioles are 18-6 in those games against Washington.

The first game of this four-game run was exciting and went down to the last pitch. Now we get to see three more games in the Battle of the Beltways.