The Washington Nationals have finally started to score runs in Baltimore Friday night, but they were having some trouble keeping the hometown Baltimore Orioles off their tails. It seems that every time the Nationals got on the board and took a commanding lead, the Birds always had the knack of getting right back into the game. A huge fifth-inning however has put the Nationals up big.
After 18-innings of scoreless baseball in New York and one to start the interleague game in Baltimore, Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa (finally) opened up the Nats scoring with a three-run home run to right field at Camden Yards off O's pitcher Jake Arrieta. However, Baltimore struck back against Nationals starter Jason Marquis in the third by scoring three runs of their own. In the fourth-inning Espinosa tripled scoring catcher Wilson Ramos and Jerry Hairston Jr. added an RBI single of his own later in the inning. Right fielder Jayson Werth was then hit by a pitch in a bases loaded situation to help give the Nationals a 6-3 lead. Again, Orioles bounced back the next inning scoring two to pull within one.
But in the top of the fifth the Nationals blew the game wide open thanks once again to Ramos and Espinosa. Ramos tripled scoring Adam LaRoche while Espinosa added an RBI single. Center fielder Roger Bernadina then hit his first home run of 2011 followed two batters later by Werth who clobbered a two-run tater of his own.
Espinosa is only a double shy of achieving the cycle and is 3-for-3 with five RBI.
The Nationals lead the Orioles 12-5 going into the bottom of the fifth-inning