Orioles swat Nats in Wieters' return (with quotes)

The first standing ovation for Matt Wieters tonight came as the Orioles played a video tribute on their scoreboard set to the theme song of the 1970s sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter." Wieters was warming up starter Gio Gonzalez before the bottom of the first inning and couldn't acknowledge it.

He'd get another chance as he walked to the plate in the top of the third.

Fans rose to their feet and Orioles starter Kevin Gausman stepped off the mound to allow Wieters the full treatment. Wieters turned and waved to the crowd, got back in the box and grounded to the right side of the infield, where shortstop J.J. Hardy in the shift made a diving stop and throw to rob him.

Friendship only goes so far.

The Orioles were much harsher with Gio Gonzalez, hitting three home runs in the first inning and winning the series opener 6-4 before an announced crowd of 23,525 at Camden Yards.

Gausman turned in his second quality start of the season by holding the potent Nationals lineup to two runs in seven innings, and the Orioles improved to 21-10. They're 43-33 all-time versus the Expos/Nationals, including 26-14 at home.

Gausman allowed five hits, walked one, struck out eight - three on his splitter - and threw a wild pitch. He came out after 116 pitches, the last one striking out Michael Taylor to end the seventh.

Bryce Harper hit a solo home run off Darren O'Day with two outs in the eighth and Wieters had an RBI double off Brad Brach with one out in the ninth. With two runners in scoring position, Brian Goodwin grounded to first and the Nats ran themselves out of the game, with Adam Lind tagged out in a rundown, and the Orioles have their first five-game winning streak.

Wieters struck out looking and flied out before finding the gap in right-center field to score Daniel Murphy, who led off the 9th inning with a walk.

Joey Rickard hit his second career leadoff home run and his first homer since May 20, 2016, and it came on Gonzalez's fourth pitch. Mark Trumbo homered with two outs, his first since April 28. Chris Davis walked and Trey Mancini launched a 433-foot homer to give the Orioles a 4-0 lead.

Gonzalez had allowed four home runs in his first six starts.

Mancini's home run was his seventh of the season and his first on his T-shirt night. It gave him nine hits in his last 14 at-bats, with two doubles, two homers and eight RBIs.

Trumbo swatted a ball high enough over the plate that Wieters was coming out of his crouch.

Gonzalez threw 26 pitches in the first inning. Gausman was back in the dugout after nine and needed only 20 to complete two innings - his total Wednesday night at Fenway Park before plate umpire Sam Holbrook ejected him.

Gausman retired the first 10 batters before Jayson Werth singled with one out in the fourth inning. Harper walked, but Ryan Zimmerman struck out on a splitter and Daniel Murphy lined to second baseman Jonathan Schoop.

Schoop doubled with one out in the fourth to extend his streak of reaching base to a career-high 23 games. He scored on Caleb Joseph's single, giving the catcher four RBIs this season and increasing the Orioles' lead to 5-0.

Anthony Rendon fielded Rickard's ground ball and made a low throw to second base on the attempted double play, allowing another run to score.

Joseph tied his career high with four hits, matching his total on Aug. 31, 2014 versus the Twins. His last three-hit game was Sept. 14, 2015 against the Red Sox.

He wasn't going to be upstaged tonight by the other catcher.

Gonzalez surrendered seven earned runs before tonight. The Orioles put six runs on the board in four innings.

Rendon and Taylor doubled in the fifth to reduce the lead to 6-1 and raise Gausman's pitch count from 53 to 79. A leadoff double for Werth in the sixth, followed by a wild pitch and Harper infield hit produced another run off Gausman.

Gonzalez allowed six runs and seven hits in six innings, and his ERA grew from 1.64 to 2.64.

Showalter on Gausman giving team length: "That was big. I thought the seventh inning was probably one of the keys to the game. We were short in the 'pen. Kevin really stepped forward against a really good offensive team. Really good. Probably as tough a lineup to match up with out of your bullpen because of the way they're constructed."

Showalter on whether this is best Gausman has been: "I'd have to go back through. I thought he was pretty good in New York except it kind of got away from him there. But really good command of the fastball tonight. Really elevated when he needed to and wanted to. That's a hard lineup to go through and that was impressive."

Showalter on jumping Gonzalez early: "He's been very quietly one of the more consistent starters in baseball, really. You've got to throw him in there with a lot of guys. He makes 30 starts every year and gives his team a chance to win, so you better not let him get his feet on the ground or it can be a long night."

Showalter on whether it was weird watching Wieters: "Yeah. It's a tug. Very classy thing the organization did there with the welcome back. Had to swallow hard. I think we all did. It was another, like Miguel (Gonzalez), a good night. We won and Matt had a good night."

Showalter on Gausman putting guys away: "I think he got in a little more attack mode when he got 0-2, 1-2 instead of letting the count get back in someone's favor. He only had one situation tonight, I think it was with Rendon, where he had to come in with a breaking ball strike instead of strike to ball. But he really attacked hitters when he was ahead and that's been something that his command hasn't allowed him to do."

Showalter on Trumbo hitting home run on high pitch: "It's a good pitch. High. I turned to J.R. (John Russell) and said, 'I'm not really sure what you tell your pitcher.' It's one thing to look up there and ... That's where they pitch a lot of guys, but if you can get the barrel over your hands there, you can make some good things happen."

Showalter on executing rundown after failure in Boston: "Our guys take a lot of pride in that and are fundamentally sound on it. Trying to get Trea (Turner) out in a rundown, not a good ... You'd better get two guys on each end and start walking toward you."

Showalter on closer Zach Britton's exam: "Richie (Bancells) talked to the doctor who saw him out there. Nothing really new there from what we thought. In fact, they took another MRI. We knew it would quiet down a little bit because the other one was taken a little bit quicker. So, we've got a pretty good idea of what type of time frame we're talking about."

Showalter on Joseph: "He played a lot last year. Caleb has a track record of being able to do some things offensively. Now that he's got that albatross off his back and able to clear his mind a little bit, he jokes and is very open with you guys and presents himself, but inside it bothers him when he's not able to contribute. I'm really proud of the way he handles it. A lot of guys would sit back in the dining room until you all leave. That's a heck of trait. He sets a good example. Adam was next to me that last at-bat, saying 'Get that fourth.'"

Wieters on ovation: "It was great. It was a good crowd, as always, here. I was very appreciative. I wish we could've been on the winning side of the scoreboard, but I appreciate the hand. And the ovation, however good it was, was not going to change how good of a time I loved being here."

Wieters on pitch to Trumbo: "He was pretty hot last year, so he hit some pitches that were definitely balls. But that's what's funny about this game. You can see some pitches that a guy may be struggling with, and then all of a sudden it can change with a blink of the eye. He put a good swing on a ball that was a ball."

Wieters on dialogue with Orioles during game: "A little bit. But I think they know from playing with me that, once the game starts, I'd rather just see who wins. I'm not going to talk any stuff to them, but at the same time I won't shy away from it. But I really just want to play the game once the game starts."

Wieters on waving to crowd: "I had a little bit of a precursor when Nick (Markakis) came back. I knew O's fans aren't going to stop until you give them a little bit of an acknowledgement. So I just wanted to say 'thank you' for my time here and get on with the at-bat, get on with the game."