Washington Nationals Explode Early to Deepen Baltimore Orioles' Misery After Manager Firing

Sometimes, one team gets a clear chance to pile onto another's troubles. The easiest way to explain the Washington Nationals’ 10-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday is that they took full advantage of this chance. This was not a moment they wasted.

Opportunities like this do not come around often. The Nationals took the field just hours after the struggling Orioles fired manager Brandon Hyde. It is also rare for such a moment to happen in the middle of a series. This game followed a comeback win Friday night that made Nasim Nuñez declare "I believe a lot of guys are starting to realize we got to play with that swag." What made it even rarer: the Nationals, who really needed some early runs, got to face right-hander Kyle Gibson. He came into the game with a 13.11 ERA and managed to leave with an even higher number next to his name.

Manager Dave Martinez said "We got to focus on us. They got good players over there. They really do — as you can see, they mounted a comeback right there really quick. So we got to continue to play our game." When asked if they could feel the Orioles’ pain from the other dugout, Josh Bell said "Not really." He added "I’m sure it was a talking point a little bit. But once you get in between the lines, it’s focusing on the game plan and capitalizing on mistakes when we can."

The Nationals Offense Delivered A Swift And Crushing Blow In The First Inning

How Six Runs In The Opening Frame Set The Tone For A Painful Orioles Defeat

The scoring explosion happened fast. The first six batters in Martinez’s lineup — CJ Abrams, James Wood, Nathaniel Lowe, Keibert Ruiz, Luis García Jr. and Bell — all got on base before the Orioles recorded an out. All six of them scored before the inning ended. The Nationals saw 51 pitches in the first inning. Each pitch seemed to take more hope away from the Orioles than the last. Hours after Hyde’s removal, the Nationals forced interim manager Tony Mansolino to make his first big move. He swapped Gibson, who had a 16.78 ERA, for Charlie Morton, who had a 7.68 ERA, before the inning finished.

The first inning played out with a frustrated fan base in the background. The Camden Yards crowd booed four times. They booed after Cedric Mullins took too many steps forward on a line drive, letting two runs score. They booed again when the Orioles could not tag out Bell at second, even though he had stopped between first and second and had to try hard to avoid the tag. They booed once more when Mansolino pulled Gibson. And they booed a final time when Morton’s name was announced over the loudspeaker. There was a lot of sound, and much of it was not happy.

Many of the 28,208 people at the game cheered sarcastically when Gibson got his first out. A small group behind the Orioles’ dugout clapped when he walked back. This offered a brief moment of relief as the 37-year-old held his head high on his way off the field. The Nationals, now with a 20-27 record, were not perfect after the first inning. But they had such a big lead that they easily kept the Orioles, who are 15-29, from catching up.

Washington's Recent Shift In Form Continues To Show Positive Results

After A Tough Losing Streak The Nationals Are Finding Their Footing In Important Games

The Nationals, like the Orioles, have not played as well as many hoped. But certainly not to the same level of disappointment. After a team meeting earlier in the week, which followed seven straight losses, the Nationals have now won three out of their last four games. They will get a chance to sweep the series on Sunday. Their offense had been near the bottom of baseball in early scoring. But in this game, they recorded their most first-inning runs since May 14, 2021. This is a very good sign for the team.

Abrams started things with a double. Wood then hit a single to the opposite field to score him. Lowe walked. Ruiz lined a changeup far outside over Mullins’s head. This brought home Wood and put two runners in scoring position. García worked a seven-pitch at-bat for a single to score both of them, making it 4-0. Bell’s single, José Tena’s sacrifice fly and Jacob Young’s triple gave them a 6-0 lead. That became 7-0 in the second inning when García doubled Wood home. The Nationals scored three more runs in the ninth inning to put the game completely out of reach.

"It’s a huge difference when you score early," García said through an interpreter. "It just gives you a lot of confidence, and you take better at-bats." The 25-year-old second baseman, who had just returned from the paternity list, joked "Now I want to have another baby to have another game like that." It certainly shows how much impact scoring early can have on a team's spirit.

Jake Irvin's Steady Pitching Performance Supported The Nationals Offensive Outburst

A Quietly Strong Outing From The Right-Hander Helped Secure The Much Needed Victory

The Nationals' strong hitting meant Jake Irvin’s pitching performance almost became a small note. Still, his outing was quite good. The right-hander pitched 6⅓ innings. He allowed five hits and two runs. He walked one batter and struck out six. While he is not missing bats often, only generating 19 whiffs over his last four starts, a better curveball helped him cruise through the game on Saturday. This kind of steady pitching is exactly what the Nationals need even when the offense is doing well.

"I go pitch to pitch, trying to get guys out in three pitches or less," Irvin said. "Especially on a day like today where we’re trying to save the bullpen, the goal is to get as deep into the game as possible. So strikeouts are secondary in that sense." His approach focuses on efficiency and keeping the bullpen rested. This strategy paid off in this game, helping the team secure the win without overworking their relievers early on.

The only bit of concern came in the seventh inning. Young chased a hard hit ball off the bat of Ramón Laureano. Young did not slow down as he got close to the center field wall. He ran into the padding shoulder-first as one run scored. He stayed down for a few minutes. Right fielder Dylan Crews was at his side. Martinez and trainer Paul Lessard looked at his shoulder for a few more minutes. He was eventually pulled from the game for Alex Call. Young walked into the dugout with his arm held firmly at his side. The good news is that X-rays came back negative. He is considered day-to-day with shoulder soreness. Young seemed confident that he would not be out for a long time.

The Orioles Continue To Struggle With Deeper Problems Beyond Their Manager

Baltimore's Pitching Woes And Delayed Offense Show No Signs Of Quick Improvement

For the Nationals, it was mostly just another day at the ballpark. They took what they were given. There was no talk about Hyde’s dismissal, at least not when reporters were around. Firing Hyde did not suddenly make the Orioles’ starting pitching better. Their rotation came into Saturday with the worst ERA in the American League. Baltimore’s batters did not really start hitting until the ninth inning. Jorge Mateo’s RBI single and Jackson Holliday’s three-run homer off Zach Brzykcy brought the Orioles within four runs. But by that point, the Nationals had too much of a lead to give the game away.

A smaller number of fans booed once more as the game ended. This game highlighted many of the Orioles' issues that have plagued them all season. Their struggles against left-handed pitching, their inability to get key hits, and leaving too many runners on base are all problems. Even when they get hits, they often fail to turn them into runs. This is a common issue for a team that is not performing well. They are hoping for a change in luck, but it is clear their problems run deep. The Nationals were simply better on this particular day.

The Orioles’ mistakes continued to cost them, especially their inability to capitalize on scoring chances. In the first inning, three runners were stranded when Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Urías struck out. In the second, a leadoff double by Jackson Holliday turned into nothing when three more batters struck out. These missed chances have been a constant problem for Baltimore. Even when they got hits in the third inning and scored some runs, they then struck out again with runners on base. This pattern of squandering opportunities makes it hard for them to win games.

It is clear that the Orioles are in a rough patch. Their pitcher Cade Povich had a good outing despite the loss. He struck out nine batters and only allowed two runs through over five innings. However, the bullpen could not hold the lead, and the offense could not get enough runs to help. The team continues to say they are confident things will turn around. But for now, they are stuck in a difficult spot. The Nationals' win just made that even clearer.