Orioles Hit 2 HRs, Rally Past Nationals 7-3
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Caleb Joseph homered and drove in three runs, J.J. Hardy had four hits and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Nationals 7-3 on Monday night in a duel between neighboring first-place teams.
Nick Markakis homered for the Orioles, who trailed 3-1 before rallying for their eighth win in 11 games.
Hardy and Ryan Flaherty opened the seventh with successive doubles off Tanner Roark (11-7) to tie it at 3. Delmon Young followed with an RBI single -- making him 9 for 17 as a pinch-hitter this season -- and Adam Jones capped the uprising with a run-scoring single, Baltimore's sixth hit of the inning.
Joseph singled in two runs in the eighth to make it 7-3.
Kevin Gausman (6-3) gave up three runs and eight hits in six innings for the Orioles.
The game was a makeup of the July 8 contest that was postponed by rain. A sellout crowd of 42,181 -- many of them wearing Oriole orange -- showed up to watch teams located just 38 miles apart on I-295.
Washington's lead over Atlanta in the NL East slipped to three games and Baltimore increased its margin over Toronto to four games in the AL East.
Roark allowed five runs, the most he yielded in 16 starts since May 3. He won his previous four starts, allowing only one run in each game.
Wilson Ramos put the Nationals up 1-0 in the second inning with his first home run since July 9, against the Orioles.
Joseph homered in the third, the first run against Washington in 23 innings. In the bottom half, Jayson Werth hit a sacrifice fly after a double by Denard Span, who has reached via a hit or walk in 30 straight games.
Markakis made it 3-2 in the fifth with his 10th home run, matching his total of last season.
TRAINING ROOM:
Orioles: Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (right ankle sprain) has completed his rehabilitative work in the minors and could be activated from the DL as soon as Friday.
Nationals: Washington placed outfielder Nate McLouth on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. Outfielder Steven Souza Jr. was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.
ON DECK:
Orioles: The Orioles starts a three-game set against Toronto on Tuesday night. Baltimore will start right-hander Bud Norris, who is 2-0 with a 1.83 ERA against Toronto this season.
Nationals: Gio Gonzalez (6-7) starts Tuesday for Washington in the opener of a three-game series against the New York Mets, who are 1-5 against the Nationals this year.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
