Baltimore Orioles overpower Washington Nationals, 7-4: MLB Update
Chris Jakubauskas pitched five strong innings on Sunday, 19 June, and had first two major league hits to help Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Nationals by 7-4.
The 32-year-old, Jakubauskas outperformed his young rivals at Nationals Park in front of an awed crowd.
"It's always special when you get your first anything," Jakubauskas said. "It was special because it's fun playing with guys who are 22, 23, and I'm 32.These opportunities don't last long, so you've got to make (the most) of opportunities when they present
themselves."
The Washington Nationals, who had an impressive streak of eight wins, did not have a very strong start when the three-game series’ last encounter began on Sunday. Chris Jakubauskas pitched a scoreless first inning followed by a strong offence campaign by
the Orioles' batters.
Craig Tatum charged the Washington Nationals' starter, Tom Gorzelanny, in the second inning to give an early 1-0 lead to the Orioles, who had lost the previous two games.
Once Jakubauskas pitched a consecutive scoreless second inning, he had a hit in the third inning followed by J. J. Hardy's homer to centre field, doubling the Orioles' lead, while the Orioles' defence was strengthened by Jakubauskas.
Craig Tatum drove his second and his team’s third run in the fourth inning by singling to the centre field. Tripling the lead, the Washington Nationals needed to overhaul their strategy to keep the hopes of winning alive.
Michael Morse hit two runs to the left field to score the first run for the Washington Nationals followed by Danny Espinosa's single run, that brought the Baltimore Orioles’ lead down to 3-2. The 32-year-old Chris Jakubauskas gave three hits in the innings.
However, Adam Jones and Derrek Lee simultaneously scored a single each to pile up the lead to 5-2 against the Nationals' defence. While nothing seemed to be working for the Nationals, Roger Bernadina scored a single in the fifth to adjust the team, making
it 5-3.
Mark Reynolds hit in a single run while Chris Jakubauskas went for a second hit of the game in the sixth inning to take the lead to 6-3 for the Orioles, who were not set to pave the way of victory for themselves.
Craig Tatum added the third run of the game and the team’s seventh to strengthen the Orioles' position. Koji Uehara threw a score-less eighth inning to keep the lead intact as the Orioles inched towards victory.
While Uehara pitched well, he gave up a hit and allowed a run in the ninth inning, sending other Nationals hitters’ packing to seal the Orioles 7-4 victory. The win also stopped the eight-game winning-streak of the Nationals.
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