Strasburg gets the win and homers as O's win streak ends

Not today for the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles were looking for a three-game sweep in the Battle of the Beltways and when they took an early 3-0 lead this afternoon against Stephen Strasburg, it looked within reach. But the Nats came back with nine unanswered runs to beat the Orioles 9-3 at Nats Park. Today's game drew 41,918 fans and the three-game series drew 120,929 fans. A victory would have given the O's a season-high six-game win streak and their first of six games since last August. Instead, the O's fell to 4-1 on this road trip and 27-15 overall. With Tampa Bay's loss to Atlanta, the Orioles still lead the American League East by two games over the Rays. Nick Markakis, Xavier Avery and Robert Andino drove in runs as the Orioles took a 3-0 lead after two innings. But then Strasburg settled down and retired the last 10 batters he faced, seven on strikeouts. He left after five innings, allowing four hits and the three runs (just one earned) with one walk and eight strikeouts. Strasburg improves to 4-1 with an ERA of 2.21 after his first-ever outing against Baltimore. Wei-Yin Chen allowed eight hits and six runs, both season highs, over 4 1/3 innings in his shortest outing of the year. He had pitched to an ERA of 1.84 in his previous two starts against the Rangers and Yankees. Chen falls to 4-1 with a 3.35 ERA and this broke a six-game win streak for the O's in Chen's starts. Bryce Harper had a two-run triple for the Nats, who added back-to-back solo homers from Jesus Flores and Strasburg in the last of the fourth. Chen had allowed just three homers total in his first seven starts. The Orioles' nine-game road win streak ended as they fell to 15-6 on the road. The Orioles lost for just the third time in 10 games and for the sixth time in 19 games. So the O's got the series win, but not the sweep in Washington, and now they return home to begin a six-game homestand Monday night against the Boston Red Sox.