Max Scherzer throws eight scoreless innings as Nats beat Orioles

He didn't get to finish the game, but he sure had an impact on it while he was out there. On a night when the Orioles' Ubaldo Jimenez gave the club a very strong start, the Nationals' Max Scherzer was even better as Washington beat Baltimore 4-0 tonight at Nationals Park.

The Orioles missed a chance for the first-ever season series sweep between these teams since they began to play in 2006. The Nationals scored three in the eighth off the O's bullpen to pull away from a 1-0 lead.

The O's stranded a leadoff double by pinch-hitter Hyun Soo Kim against Mark Melancon in the ninth. Pedro Alvarez pinch-hit for Adam Jones in the ninth, but no reason was immediately given why Jones left the game.

The Orioles had few chances tonight. After Scherzer retired the first nine batters on 35 pitches, Jones led off the fourth with a double to left and advanced to third on Steve Pearce's grounder. But Scherzer fanned Manny Machado and Chris Davis grounded out.

In the eighth, Mark Trumbo led off with a single. With two outs he stole second base to advance into scoring position. But Scherzer got J.J. Hardy to fly to center. The Orioles went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position against the right-hander and 0-for-7 on the night.

Scherzer allowed just two hits over eight innings as the Orioles went 2-for-26 against him. He did not walk a batter and fanned 10, throwing 95 pitches. This is his 11th game of the season with 10 or more strikeouts and the 47th of his career. Scherzer improved to 14-7 with a 2.92 ERA.

Jimenez didn't make many mistakes tonight, but one went over the center field wall in the last of the fourth. Jayson Werth homered to center on the inning's first pitch for a 1-0 lead. He hit a high fastball at 90 mph for his 17th home run.

Later in that inning, Jimenez got Ryan Zimmerman to line out with Bryce Harper on second. In the fifth, he pitched out of second-and-third, two-out jam when he fanned Werth on a 93 mph fastball.

For a pitcher that began the night with an ERA of 6.94, the Orioles could not have asked for much more. Over six innings, Jimenez allowed five hits and one run with no walks and four strikeouts. He threw 90 pitches, 60 for strikes.

Over his last two starts - July 28 versus Minnesota and tonight - Jimenez has allowed two runs and 10 hits over 11 innings.

Jimenez continues to have good career numbers versus Washington. Even with this defeat, he is 6-2 with a 2.24 ERA in nine career starts against the Nationals. In five starts at Nats Park, he is 4-1 with a 1.02 ERA.

Down 1-0 going to the last of the eighth, manager Buck Showalter had Logan Ondrusek, who had pitched a scoreless seventh, start the eighth instead of Brad Brach, who had been warming up. Ondrusek allowed three straight hits, the last an RBI double by Daniel Murphy that made it 2-0. Mike Wright came in and Bryce Harper's two-run double to left made it 4-0.

The Orioles fall to 70-57 on the year, 28-35 on the road and 19-21 in the second half. They lead the all-time series 36-24 against the Nationals, going 17-7 since 2012. Their six-game win streak at Nats Park was snapped.

Now the Orioles head to New York for a series at Yankee Stadium. On Friday night, Yovani Gallardo (4-5, 5.08 ERA) faces right-hander Luis Cessa (3-0, 4.01 ERA).