Baltimore @ Washington preview
Nationals Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 23, 2025 ) Baltimore 3, Washington 4
Even when things go well for the Baltimore Orioles, the team is left wondering why more didn't go better.
That means the Orioles, at 9-14, are still trying to break out of their early doldrums.
They'll have another chance on Thursday evening when they visit the Washington Nationals.
The Nationals will aim for a three-game series sweep after Wednesday night's 4-3 victory followed a 7-0 outcome on Tuesday.
"We played a good game," Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday said of the latest contest. "Sometimes it doesn't work out in the end."
Washington is experiencing the opposite, with victories in four of its last five games.
"Very happy for our team," manager Dave Martinez said. "Proud of the way they're playing. They're playing really well."
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said there were signs of a breakthrough from his team Wednesday night.
"We're a better club than we've shown so far," he said. "We have a lot of confidence in these guys, especially offensively, to start putting up numbers. ... Nobody (has been) satisfied with how we're playing. The breaks are kind of hard to come by a little bit. We can't feel sorry for ourselves."
The discouraging part for the Orioles was leaving 12 runners on base Wednesday. They went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
"You want to cash in and score runs," Holliday said.
Yet the Orioles are encouraged after Holliday and Adley Rutschman had a pair of hits.
"Adley has had his ups and downs this year," Hyde said. "It's still really, really early. We still have five-plus months to go. I expect him to have a good season."
James Wood bashed a first-inning homer from Washington's lead-off spot. That was the type of beginning that Martinez said can spread throughout the lineup.
"He crushed that ball, and Josh Bell followed him," Martinez said. "We're swinging the bats."
Bell, the designated hitter, said the Nationals had the right approach this week after returning from a 4-6 road trip.
"It's just a testament to our preparation," he said.
The Orioles will try to demonstrate their bounce-back ability in the series finale.
"There is some frustration with how we've been playing," Hyde said. "Some frustration with how certain guys are pitching, how certain guys are swinging the bat. They want to perform better."
A pair of left-handers are lined up as Thursday's starting pitchers.
The Orioles will go with Cade Povich (0-2, 6.38 ERA), who'll try to recover from his worst outing of the season after allowing seven runs in 3 1/3 innings in an 8-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. This will be the second-year major-leaguer's first appearance against Washington.
MacKenzie Gore (2-2, 3.41 ERA) has worked six innings in four of his five starts this year. He's coming off a 13-strikeout effort Saturday at Colorado, where he was the winning pitcher in a 12-11 victory. He allowed two runs, four hits and two walks in six innings.
In two home outings, Gore has given up two runs in 12 innings with 20 strikeouts and one walk. He took the loss in an April 2023 home game, giving up three runs in six innings, in his only previous matchup versus Baltimore.
--Field Level Media