The Washington Nationals defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the first game of the Battle of the Beltway 2011 in decisive fashion. The Nats nailed out 19 hits on Orioles pitchers including six home runs while breaking a franchise record of runs scored in a game in a 17-5 route at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
Danny Espinosa, Jayson Werth, Roger Bernadina, Wilson Ramos and Laynce Nix all hit home runs, Werth hitting two on his 32nd birthday and his first mult-homer game in Nationals uniform. Espinosa was only a double shy of the cycle and finished the night 3-for-4 with a walk and five RBI. Ramos also had a huge night going 3-for-4 with a walk and two RBI. Every Nat in the starting line-up reached base except for designated hitter Matt Stairs who went 0-for-4 and was later replaced by outfielder Michael Morse. The Nationals raised their team batting average from .223 to .229 in one night.
Nationals starter Jason Marquis was not his usual dominate self giving up five runs on eight hits while walking three. Marquis was pulled from the game by manager Jim Riggleman in the fourth-inning and was noticeably upset in the dugout. It probably stings a lot more now that the game is over and it ended how it did. Marquis was replaced by reliever Henry Rodriguez who put a couple 100 mph pitches up on the radar gun in three-innings of work giving up no runs, walking none and collecting three strikeouts.
Washington is now 21-23 and is in fifth place in the NL East.