DC Sports Recap, 7/16-17

Nationals @ Braves
Game 1 (7/16): Nationals win 5-2
Nats starter John Lannan (6-6) got his first two hits of the season in last night's victory over the Braves, which also gave him his sixth win on the year. Lannan gave up 2 runs in 5 2/3 innings, while his counterpart Tommy Hanson (10-5) gave up 5 in 5 1/3. Hanson failed to get his 11th win, which would have tied his own previous record of 11 wins in one season, which he set as a rookie in 2009. The Nationals had 9 hits, including Wilson Ramos's two run homer in the sixth.

Game 2 (7/17): Nationals lose 8-9
The Braves capitalized on a late-game surge to beat the Nats in today's game. Nationals starter Tom Gorzelanny left the game in the 3rd inning with a twisted ankle, and is listed as day to day. The loss went to Ryan Mattheus (2-1), the win to Craig Kimbrel (3-2) after Braves starter Jair Jurrjens went five innings. The Nationals displayed their often spectacular offense, with second baseman Danny Espinosa getting 3 hits and 2 runs, including a 2 run homer in the 6th, his 17th of the season. The Braves got 5 runs in the 5th, and a Freddie Freeman single to right gave the Braves the winning run in the bottom of the 9th.

Orioles vs. Indians
Game 1: Orioles win 6-5
O's starter Alfredo Simon (2-2) had his longest outing since September 2008, going seven innings. Simon gave up only 3 hits as the Orioles broke their 9-game losing streak and got their second win of the month. Indians starter Carlos Carrasco (8-7) went seven innings and gave up 5 hits and 3 runs. Nick Markakis got his eighth homer of the season in the sixth inning; he scored a total of three runs and got one RBI. In other Orioles news, they placed DH Vladimir Guerrero on the 15-day Disabled List with broken bones in his hand.

Game 2: Orioles win 8-3
The Orioles capitalized on four home runs from Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, and Robert Andino to take the fourth game in the four game series against the Indians. Both teams got 10 hits on the night, but the Indians were only able to score 3. O's pitcher Mark Hendrickson got the win, his first on the season, with three innings pitched. Indians starter Jeanmar Gomez got the loss, his second of the season, after pitching 5 1/3 innings. Here's hoping the Orioles can take this momentum into their series against Boston starting tomorrow!