Fister, homers lift Nationals past Orioles
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Baltimore, MD (SportsNetwork.com) - Doug Fister threw seven strong innings and Washington got solo home runs from Wilson Ramos, Ian Desmond and Jayson Werth in a 6-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday night.
"This is a good ballpark to hit home runs in," Nationals manager Matt Williams said.
Fister (8-2), who won his third straight decision, gave up seven hits and a pair of runs, while recording two walks and three strikeouts. The right-hander was removed after throwing 113 pitches, 73 for strikes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Werth and Adam LaRoche drove in two runs, as the NL East-leading Nationals won for the eighth time in 10 games. They also bounced back from an 8-2 loss Monday when the Orioles homered three times in the 11th inning. Tuesday's game between the Beltway rivals was postponed by rain and rescheduled for Aug. 4.
Bud Norris (7-6), who was activated off the disabled list Tuesday, surrendered six hits and five runs in four-plus frames to have his four-game winning streak snapped.
Manny Machado continued his hot hitting by going 3-for-4 with a solo homer, but the AL East leaders lost for just the second time in nine contests.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We didn't string much together," O's manager Buck Showalter said.
Back-to-back doubles from Anthony Rendon and Werth put the Nationals on the board in the opening inning, and LaRoche followed with a line single to right for a 2-0 lead.
Chris Davis singled in Steve Pearce in the bottom of the first, but Ramos homered to left on a 1-2 pitch the next inning.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Davis popped out to third to leave two runners stranded in scoring position in the third and Desmond made it 4-1 with his 16th homer of the year, a shot to center in the fourth.
Machado went deep to left in the bottom of the fourth. He is 12-for-21 at the plate since returning from a five-game suspension and has five homers in his last eight contests.
The Nationals got that run back in the fifth. With the bases loaded and Brad Brach pitching, LaRoche lifted a sacrifice fly to center to plate Danny Espinosa.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Orioles threatened to trim the deficit in the sixth. With men on first and third and one out, Caleb Joseph sent a hot smash toward third. Rendon made a sparkling stop on a high hop to start a 5-4-3 double play.
Werth homered to left in the seventh, and Drew Storen and Ross Detwiler each pitched a perfect inning of relief for the Nationals.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ramos extended his hitting streak to 12 games ... Norris, who was out with a right groin strain, made his first start since June 21 at Yankee Stadium ... Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis appeared in his 1,300th MLB game and O's shortstop J.J. Hardy in his 1,200th. They combined to go 0-for-7 ... Fister's record moved to .500 (52-52) in his career for the first time since he was 6-6 in May 2010.