Surging Orioles drop Nationals into cellar with 7-3 victory

BALTIMORE (AP) — The unpredictable nature of this wacky baseball season can best be summed up by the current status of a team that's coming off two straight 100-loss seasons and a club that last fall won its first World Series.

Hard to imagine, but the rebuilding Baltimore Orioles are contenders and the defending champion Washington Nationals are sitting in last place.

Baltimore struck early against lefty Patrick Corbin and got a home run from Rio Ruiz in a 7-3 victory Saturday night, capping another disappointing day for the reeling Nationals.

Light-hitting Andrew Velazquez had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run for the Orioles, who have won seven of eight — a streak that includes four victories against Washington. After losing 115 games in 2018 and another 108 last year, Baltimore completed the first third of this abbreviated 60-game season with an impressive 12-8 record.

No one saw that coming, except perhaps for the Orioles.

“Our guys are playing with an attitude that they don't care what people think and that they have nothing to lose," manager Brandon Hyde said. “We're a bunch of grinders."

The Nationals, on the other hand, are being pressed to come up with an encore to their first major league championship. Hours after placing ailing right-hander Stephen Strasburg (hand) on the 10-day injured list, Washington fell into the NL East cellar with a 7-11 record.

“It’s just not going for us right now," shortstop Trea Turner said. “But we’ve still got time, and I think that same mentality the last few years — you’re never out of it until you’re out of it. We feel like we’ve got time to play good baseball. Our best baseball is in front of us."

Corbin (2-1) went 14-7 last season and was being counted on to carry the load for a starting...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Surging-Orioles-drop-Nationals-into-cellar-with-15487154.php