When Matt Albers jogged in from the bullpen in the worst spot that a reliever possibly could be thrust into, he told himself he would be perfectly content giving up one run. Sure, that would have meant the Orioles had lost the lead and Jeremy Guthrie's perseverance after an ugly first inning would result only in a no-decision.
But Albers had to be realistic. With the bases loaded and nobody out and the Orioles up by only a run, anything short of the Washington Nationals taking the lead in the top of the sixth had to be considered a positive result. Albers' outing turned out better than even the most optimistic Oriole could have hoped.
Third baseman Melvin Mora recovered after bobbling Ronnie Belliard's ground ball and cut down a runner at home plate. Shortstop Robert Andino then started a nifty inning-ending double play on Austin Kearns, one of a season-high four the Orioles turned in a 6-3 victory over the hapless Nationals in front of an announced 39,633 at Camden Yards.
"The play of the game was the feed that Andino made," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said.
"He caught that ball and threw a rocket to [Brian] Roberts. That was not a routine double-play ball. That ball was hit in the hole, and he had to plant and put something on it," Trembley said. "That's the best our infield has played all year tonight."
The Orioles (34-40) improved to 4-1 against the Nationals (21-51) this season and tied a franchise high with their 11th interleague victory in 17 tries. They will go for the series sweep this afternoon, looking to replicate the all-around effort they got Saturday.
Aubrey Huff and Gregg Zaun hit solo home runs, but it was rookie Nolan Reimold's three-run blast in the fifth inning off Nationals starter Shairon Martis that enabled the Orioles to dig out from an early two-run deficit that was largely created when Guthrie could not find the strike zone in the first inning.
Reimold's blast was hit so high that Washington left fielder Josh Willingham lost it, throwing his hands up in the air to signal that he needed help. But he finally turned around and saw the ball bounce a couple of rows into the left-field seats.
"I figured that was insurance that I was going to get a hit no matter what, because it was going to fall in if it didn't get out," said Reimold, who has nine homers, three of which have been three-run shots.
"I was like 80 percent sure it was out. I'm glad it carried out."
