Baltimore Orioles Daily: Birds lose after risky base-running play

The Baltimore Orioles lost a close one to the Washington Nationals, and an aggressive base-running play in the fifth inning might have been the difference maker.

The Baltimore Orioles suffered their fourth straight loss on Tuesday, falling to the Washington Nationals in a 3-2 nail-biter. With it, the Birds slipped to 17-38 on the season, a full 21 games behind the Red Sox in the American League East.

The game’s climactic moment occurred in the fifth inning, when Adam Jones clocked a double into the left field gap to score Chance Sisco from second and bring the Orioles within one. Third base coach Bobby Dickerson then waved Jace Peterson home, but Peterson was easily thrown out, ending the potential rally. The result was made even worse by the fact that Manny Machado, he of the .326 batting average, was on deck.

Neither side scored for the rest of the game, and the Nationals wound up in the win column. Given how their offense has performed this year, it’s hard to blame the Birds for being aggressive, but that won’t do much to ease the disappointment of another close loss.

The Orioles will try to avoid the sweep today at 7:05 p.m. ET. Until then, here’s what you might have missed yesterday.

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What do you think: can the O’s avoid the sweep? Let us know on social media, and keep it here at Birds Watcher for more updates on the Baltimore Orioles.