Early aggressive offense leads to big number against Nats

The Orioles used a formula they used earlier this season to produce an early lead tonight. And lefty Tommy Milone took it from there.

It was an impressive night of Orioles baseball.

In crushing Washington 11-0 in the opener of a three-game series, the O's scored three early runs and led 4-0 by the top of the fourth. It was quite a change from earlier this week and the three straight games scoring one run combined versus Miami. Later in the game they poured on the offense.

Meanwhile, Milone didn't need much offense, again showing a plus changeup as he threw six scoreless innings on three hits. It was a masterful performance and he has thrown gems back-to-back against the Rays and Nats, two teams that combined for 189 wins last year. Tonight he pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth when Washington could have gotten back into the game at down just 4-0. He threw 91 pitches, 61 for strikes.

Milone is now 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA. Over those past two starts he's allowed one run over 11 innings with no walks and 11 strikeouts. He is the first O's starter this year to go six innings.

But back to the offense.

Just five pitches into this game the O's had a 1-0 lead on right-hander Aníbal Sánchez. On the game's second pitch, Hanser Alberto hit the ball hard, but grounded out. Anthony Santander then smoked a double to center on the first pitch - the drive producing a 109 mph exit velocity and a .770 expected batting average. Then José Iglesias started a big night for himself, lining the second pitch to left for a double and 1-0 lead.

The second inning started when third baseman Rio Ruiz drew an eight-pitch walk. But the next two pitches produced another run. Chris Davis doubled to right, sending Ruiz to third on the first pitch. Then Austin Hays singled to left on the first pitch for a 2-0 lead.

The first time through the order, the O's were 4-for-7 with two walks against Sánchez, who gave up four homers in his first start, 10 days ago against Toronto.

Tonight Ruiz and Iglesias started together on the left side of the O's infield for just the fourth time and first since the fourth game of the year. It was a welcome sight, for offense and defense.

In the fourth, the O's took a 4-0 lead and yep, again early-count aggressiveness paid off. Iglesias singled in Alberto, who led off the inning with a double. Iglesias had a huge night, going 4-for-4 with a sac fly, his seventh double and three RBIs.

The Birds broke this open with four runs in the sixth to lead 8-0. Renato Núñez blasted a three-run homer off reliever Ryne Harper and Pedro Severino doubled in the eighth run. Núñez, who began the game tied for second in the American League with four home runs, has hit three in his last two nights and five in his last seven games. The Orioles added three more in the seventh and it was 11-0.

The top four batters in the Baltimore order - Alberto, Santander, Iglesias and Núñez - went 10-for-18 with four doubles, a homer, seven runs scored and eight RBIs. Iglesias raised his average from .379 to .455.

The Orioles produced season highs in hits (19) and runs (11). Their previous high in hits was 12, and in runs it was seven. They've scored 18 runs the past two games.

This was their first shutout since July 21, 2019, when it was Asher Wojciechowski, Paul Fry and Michael Givens combining to blank Boston.

Join me later tonight, about 30 minutes after the last out for the Extra Innings show on 105.7 FM the Fan. Gary Kendall will be my guest.

PULL THE LEVER KRONK pic.twitter.com/QviajSDPx5

-- Baltimore Orioles 😷 (@Orioles) August 7, 2020