BALTIMORE — Mark Trumbo singled in the tiebreaking run in the 12th inning, and the Baltimore Orioles extended their season-best winning streak to six games with a 5-4 comeback victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.
Baltimore rallied from a late three-run deficit to complete a two-game sweep of its neighbor. The interleague series shifts to Washington for two games on Wednesday and Thursday.
Singles by Adam Jones and Manny Machado, along with an intentional walk to Chris Davis, loaded the bases for Trumbo against Jacob Turner (1-1). Trumbo hit the first pitch to left field, ending the game just seven minutes short of four hours.
Logan Verett (2-0) pitched three shutout innings for the Orioles, who improved to 22-10, including 13-3 at home.
Adam Lind had a three-run, pinch-homer in the eighth inning to break open a duel between Max Scherzer and Ubaldo Jimenez and provide the Nationals with a 4-1 lead.
But the Orioles weren’t done.
Jones hit a solo homer in the eighth, and Baltimore pulled even in the ninth against Enny Romero, one of several struggling members of the Washington bullpen.
Jonathan Schoop doubled in a run with two outs, and J.J. Hardy followed a with an RBI single to force extra innings.
The Orioles missed a chance to win in the 11th when Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper threw out Hardy at the plate on a two-out single by Caleb Joseph.
Jimenez allowed two hits through seven innings. Anthony Rendon and Matt Wieters opened the eighth with successive singles before Lind stepped in for No. 9 hitter Michael Taylor and drove a 1-1 pitch over the center-field wall. It was his third pinch-homer this season and eighth of his career. He’s 6 for 11 with nine RBIs as a pinch hitter this year.
Scherzer struck out 11 and gave up two runs and four hits over eight innings. The 2016 NL Cy Young Award winner has gone at least six innings in all seven starts this season and has reached double digits in strikeouts three times.
Scherzer issued two walks over the first five innings and held the Orioles hitless until Seth Smith homered with one out in the sixth.
Nationals righty Koda Glover (hip) will throw for Double-A Harrisburg on Wednesday in his first rehab assignment since being placed on the DL on April 26. Shawn Kelley (back) is “feeling real good,” said manager Dusty Baker, who expects the right-hander to return to the club on Friday when he’s eligible to come off the DL. Infielder Stephen Drew (hamstring), sidelined since April 12, might be ready for a rehab assignment this weekend, Baker said, adding, “we miss Drew big-time.”
Orioles closer Zach Britton (left forearm strain) won’t return from his second trip to the DL until the team is certain he’s healthy. Though there is no time frame, Britton told The Associated Press, “A 60-day DL stint was never something brought to my attention.”
Stephen Strasburg (3-1, 2.66 ERA) gets the call for Washington on Wednesday night when the series shifts to Nationals Park. The Orioles’ Wade Miley (1-1, 2.27 ERA) pitches for the first time since he was struck in the wrist and upper thigh by line drives in the first inning last week.
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