Shut out for 8 innings, Orioles rally in 9th but fall to Nationals, 3-2

WASHINGTON—The Orioles had just four hits in the first eight innings, and one game after recording their first shutout of the season were an inning away from being shut out for the first time in 2026.

In the ninth inning, the Orioles scored twice and had the bases loaded for Adley Rutschman with two outs.

Rutschman struck out for the third time in the game, and the Orioles fell, 3-2, to the Washington Nationals before a sellout crowd of 38,912 at Nationals Park on Friday night.

Before the game, president of baseball operations Mike Elias said that he hoped third baseman Jordan Westburg, who had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on Wednesday, could return in the early part of 2027.

“I hate it for him,” shortstop Gunnar Henderson said. “But I know that he’s going to come back stronger than ever and, yeah, I love playing the field with him, but it’s just — it sucks, because I know everything in him wants to be out here. So, yeah, my thoughts and prayers are with him but, yeah, hopefully, we can get him back out here soon.”

Henderson had two hits and struck out in the seventh with runners on second and third. After Coby Mayo singled, Jeremiah Jackson doubled, and Henderson struck out on a ball in the dirt. He slammed down his bat.

“I was obviously not pleased with myself because I got back to kind of what I was doing earlier,” he said.

In the ninth, Henderson’s sharp RBI single drove in Tyler O’Neill to get the Orioles within one run.

“Then in my last at-bat, I learned from it and I was able to get the job done there,” he said. “It’s just a game of learning. But, yeah, obviously I would have loved to come through in the at-bat before. But just got to put up with it and do it in the next one.”

In the fifth, Henderson’s double sent Mayo, who had been hit by a pitch, to third. Taylor Ward ended the inning by grounding to third.

In the ninth, Samuel Basallo singled against Nationals relief pitcher Andrew Alvarez. O’Neill walked, and Gus Varland walked Leody Taveras to load the bases with none out.

But Mayo struck out, taking two strikes and then chasing a ball outside the strike zone. Jackson swung at a high fastball and lifted a fly ball to right that scored Basallo, who tagged from third.

Henderson came through with a single against Richard Lovelady that scored O’Neill to draw the Orioles to within one. Ward walked to load the bases, but Rutschman couldn’t check his swing on a breaking ball outside the strike zone to end the game.

Washington starter Zack Littell (2-4) allowed two hits in five innings. Alvarez gave up three in three innings and was pulled after Basallo and O’Neill reached.

“In the first eight, we had some good swings. Just nothing to show for it.” manager Craig Albernaz said. “And the only time we had runners in scoring position were both on doubles by Gunnar and then J.J., both with two outs. Second and third with two outs. It’s tough to come through with two-out hits.

“But our guys did a great job of putting good swings on it. Alvarez came in, he did a good job keeping us off balance. He had both breaking balls going really well against us. Basallo did a great job his last at-bat to kind of get a barrel on one, and that’s when the ninth inning really started getting going for us and we had a chance to win.”

But, with the exception of Henderson in the ninth, the Orioles faltered again with runners in scoring position, going just 1-for-6 and taking bad at-bats in those situations. They hit the ball hard — 16 batted balls of at least 95 mph — but they didn’t hit in the clutch.

The Orioles dropped to 20-25, though Shane Baz (1-5) threw his first quality start, allowing three runs on five hits in six innings.

Washington (22-23) got its first run in the fourth when CJ Abrams and Daylen Lile singled. Brady House’s sacrifice fly scored Abrams from third.

Lile’s seventh home run in the sixth scored Curtis Mead, who walked, and gave the Nationals a 3-0 lead, which is more than the Orioles could overcome.

Baz threw a career-high 108 pitches, yielding three runs on six hits, walking three and striking out four.

How did Baz throw? “Baz looked good,” Albernaz said. “He gave us a great chance to win. Pitch count was efficient, got him into the seventh. Pitch count got higher in the seventh. Some grindy at-bats. But, no, he pitched very well. Well enough for us to win the game.”

Baz seemed to be pleased with his performance.

“I felt good,” Baz said. “I felt like I kept my command pretty well. I kind of got into the groove after the first inning, probably and just kind of tried to keep challenging guys the whole time. All four felt pretty good, I guess five pitches felt pretty good.”

Baz had praise for pitching coach Drew French.

“Definitely, a lot of credit to French and the staff here about helping me recognize what I can do better and giving me a plan throughout the week of in between starts of just stuff that I can do that will help that,” he said. “I feel like we’re moving in the right direction, for sure.”

What does it mean? Baz pitched well. The only runs the Orioles scored came when he left the game.

What’s the word? “We are looking at it with as much intensity as we can right now while we undergo this.”-Elias on the Orioles’ spate of injuries.

What’s the stat of the day? 16. The Orioles had 16 batted balls of 95 mph or more.

What’s going on in the minor leagues? Jackson Holliday was 1-for-3, walked three times and played third base as Triple-A Norfolk lost to Charlotte, 4-1.

Levi Wells allowed four runs on seven hits in four innings.

Thomas Sosa homered in Double-A Chesapeake’s 5-1 loss to Akron.

Braylin Tavera homered in High-A Frederick’s 4-3 win over Hudson Valley.

Edwin Amparo drove in two runs as Single-A Delmarva lost to Fayetteville, 9-3.

What’s next? Chris Bassitt (3-2, 5.21) will start against Cade Cavalli (1-2, 4.02) on Saturday at 4:05 p.m.

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com