The Washington Nationals, would you believe, lead the Majors, through 19 games, with 14 games of 5+ runs, after beating the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-7, in 10 innings on Thursday, to wrap a four-game series in Steel City.
If only they could pitch.
The Nats (9-10) broke a 7-7 tie in the top of the 10th on an RBI single from James Wood (.256 BA/.902 OPS, 5 HRs, 15 RBIs), who was 2-for-6 on the day.
Next up for Washington: a homestand that begins on Friday with the San Francisco Giants (7-12).
As the Nats were wrapping a four-game set, Baltimore was opening a fresh one up in Cleveland, in a game that saw Parker Messick take a no-hitter into the ninth.
The O’s knocked Messick (3-0, 1.05 ERA) with a pair of singles to lead off the ninth, and actually had the tying run in scoring position, and Samuel Basallo hitting a 97.1 mph-grounder to second that could have tied the game up.
Juan Brito made the diving stop, retired Basallo, and the Guardians (11-9) held on for the 4-2 win over the Orioles (9-11).