BALTIMORE (AP) — Rookie Gunnar Henderson homered, Kyle Bradish had another dominant start and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Nationals 1-0 on Tuesday night, hours after the team announced that Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson died.
Entering the night, Baltimore held a 2 1/2-game lead over second-place Tampa Bay in the AL East. The Orioles have five games remaining and hold the tiebreaker over the Rays.
Bradish (12-7) allowed three hits, struck out four batters and had a pair of walks over a season-high eight innings. He has thrown at least six inning innings in his last eight starts and is 6-1 since Aug. 1.
Yennier Canó picked up his eighth save for the Orioles, who have won seven of their last 10 games.
Baltimore (98-59) is two wins shy of their sixth, 100-win season in franchise history. The last time the Orioles finished with 100 wins was 1980, when they went 100-62.
Henderson led off the first with a homer on a seven-pitch at-bat off Josiah Gray. It was Henderson’s 28th home run of the season, tied with Cal Ripken Jr. for the second-most by a rookie in franchise history. Ryan Mountcastle tops that list with 33 in 2021.
Gray (8-13) settled down and did not allow another run through six innings. He gave up five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Washington reliever Robert Garcia gave up a leadoff single to Henderson and walked Adley Rutschman to open the ninth. However, he got Anthony Santander to hit into a double play and Henderson was thrown out trying to steal home to end the threat.
However, the Nationals could not capitalize.
REMEMBERING BROOKS
The Orioles held a moment of silence for Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, who died Tuesday at the age of 86. Robinson played his entire 23-year career in Baltimore beginning in 1955. He was named to 18 All-Star games, won 16 consecutive Gold Gloves and was a member of the 1966 and 1970 World Series championship teams.
TRAINERS ROOM
Orioles: RHP Félix Bautista (right elbow) threw 25 pitches in live batting practice Tuesday, the first time he’s faced a hitter since Aug. 25. The closer hasn’t been ruled out from the postseason roster. … INF Mountcastle (left shoulder) took batting practice and is eligible to come off IL on Wednesday.
UP NEXT
Nationals: LHP Patrick Corbin (10-14, 5.13 ERA) will start the finale on four days’ rest after allowing five runs on five hits and one walk over 4 1/3 innings against Atlanta on Sept. 22
Orioles: RHP Grayson Rodriguez (6-4, 4.49 ERA) has been dominant since rejoining the club from Triple-A on July 17 and has held opponents to three earned runs or fewer in 11 consecutive starts.
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