O's game blog: Orioles, Nationals begin series at Nats Park

WASHINGTON - The Orioles split two lopsided games with the Washington Nationals last month in Baltimore, and tonight the clubs begin a two-game series at Nationals Park.

On July 16, the Nationals scored six runs their last four at-bats and got homers from Juan Soto and Matt Adams in an 8-1 win over the Orioles. The next night, Trey Mancini homered twice, driving in three runs as the Orioles won 9-2 behind a 15-hit attack.

The Orioles and Nationals have been meeting since 2006 and the Orioles are 7-2-4 in 13 season series, winning seven, losing two and splitting four. The O's lead the all-time series 40-32 and are 18-17 at Nationals Park. But the Nats went 5-1 against the Orioles last year and it's a 1-1 split so far this season.

The Orioles scored six runs in the first four innings Sunday and beat Tampa Bay 8-3. Baltimore scored 15 runs in winning the last two games of that four-game series for a 2-2 split.

The Orioles (43-88) have won four of six and just completed Sunday a 4-3 homestand. That followed a stretch where they went 1-12 against New York, Houston, New York and Boston.

The O's Jonathan Villar hit his 20th homer in the win Sunday to become the sixth 20/20 player in club history, producing a season with 20 or more homers and steals. Villar has hit three homers his last three games, five in seven games and nine over his past 30 games. Since the All-Star break, Villar is batting .317/.395/.549 with an OPS of .943.

The Nationals (73-57) are the wild card leader in the National League. Washington was 19-31 this season after 50 games and has gone 54-26 since then for its best-ever 80-game stretch.

The Nationals swept a series over the weekend at Wrigley Field and have won five in a row, 10 of 12 and 15 of 19 games. Their offense has been producing big numbers, including 41 runs during the five-game win streak. Over the last 12 games, the Nationals are averaging 8.9 runs per game, batting .322 with an OPS of .990, with 14 steals and 27 homers.

Nationals starting pitchers have an ERA of 1.32 over their last seven games.

The Orioles will start right-hander Aaron Brooks (3-7, 6.21 ERA) tonight. Brooks threw well in his last start on Wednesday against Kansas City, allowing one run over five innings. But in eight starts with the Orioles, he is 1-4 with an ERA of 8.07, a WHIP of 1.732, and he allows 2.5 walks and 6.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Lefty Patrick Corbin (10-5, 3.17 ERA) will make his 27th start for the Nationals. Over his past two games, he has given up one run over 14 innings.

Corbin has not taken a loss since June 11. In his past six starts, he is 3-0 with an ERA of 2.41. Over his last 12 starts, he is 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA, a .217 average against and a .610 opponent OPS. He's fanned 90 over 76 1/3 innings and Washington is 9-3 in those 12 games.

In 12 home games in 2019, Corbin is 6-1 with a 1.76 ERA and a 0.955 WHIP. He has given up just four homers in 81 2/3 innings this year at Nats Park.

Shorebirds honored: In addition to Ryan Mountcastle getting named as the International League MVP today, the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds (86-45) who have the best record in the South Atlantic League, today placed two players and two staff members on the postseason SAL All-Star team.

Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, the Orioles' No. 1 pick in 2018, was voted as the league's Most Outstanding MLB Prospect, as well as its top right-handed pitcher. Shortstop Adam Hall was named to the utility infield slot. Pitching coach Justin Ramsey picked up Coach of the Year honors and manager Kyle Moore was crowned SAL Manager of the Year.

Rodriguez, 19, has gone 9-4 with a 2.86 ERA in 19 starts and 88 innings. Rodriguez has walked just 35 and struck out 122 batters, good for a 12.48 K/9 mark. Rodriguez was a midseason SAL All-Star and also pitched in the All-Star Futures Game.

Hall, a 20-year-old prospect born in Bermuda and raised in London, Ontario, ranks inside the league's top 10 in six offensive categories, including batting average (.302), OBP (.383), hits (134), runs (75), stolen bases (32) and OPS (.783). He leads the Shorebirds in all those categories, as well as doubles (22), and ranks second on the team in games played (116).

Ramsey, finishing up his first season coaching in the Orioles system after over a decade in the college ranks, has overseen one of the most talented pitching staffs in all of Minor League Baseball. The Shorebirds' 3.02 ERA is fifth-best in MiLB, and tops in the SAL by a quarter-run. Delmarva leads the minors in saves (50) and batting average against (.205), is tied for second in shutouts (19), and ranks fifth in WHIP (1.18).

Last night, Ramsey's staff recorded strikeout No. 1,308 batters, shattering the South Atlantic League record set by Lakewood in 2018. The Shorebirds pitchers average 10.25 K/9.

Moore is in his first year managing the Shorebirds after a decade in the Orioles system in various roles. Under Moore's leadership, Delmarva started the season 24-4 and went 48-21 in the first half, running away with the Northern Division title and clinching the team's first postseason berth since 2005. The Shorebirds broke a 23-year-old franchise record with their 84th win of the season on Aug. 20 and are bidding to become the first SAL team to reach 90 wins since 2006 when Augusta did that.