Mitchell Parker twirls gem as Nationals blank Orioles

Mitchell Parker allowed just one hit over eight innings, Dylan Crews and Nathaniel Lowe homered and the Washington Nationals beat the visiting Baltimore Orioles 7-0 on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series.

Parker (3-1) allowed only a third-inning single to Cedric Mullins and retired the final 14 Orioles he faced in the longest start of his young career. The 25-year-old left-hander struck out four and walked two while throwing 99 pitches and lowering his ERA to 1.39.

Crews extended his hitting streak to seven with his third home run in four games. James Wood had two doubles and a single, Jose Tena finished a homer short of the cycle and Keibert Ruiz had three hits for Washington, which had 10 extra-base hits and has won three of four.

Mullins had a single and two walks for Baltimore, which has lost three of four.

One game after Baltimore pitchers gave up 24 runs, starter Dean Kremer (2-3) gave up six runs (five earned) on 11 hits over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out four without a walk.

Washington jumped on Kremer early when Wood led off the bottom of the first with a double and Lowe followed with a homer to right.

In the second, Tena tripled and scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0.

Baltimore threatened in the third. Jackson Holliday drew a one-out walk and Mullins singled, but Adley Rutschman flied out and Tena reached into the stands along the third base line to snare a popup by Gunnar Henderson.

Wood doubled leading off the Washington fifth. With one out, Luis Garcia Jr. singled, scoring Wood, and went to second on a throwing error by Mullins. Garcia scored on a Keibert Ruiz single to increase the lead to 5-0.

Crews led off the bottom of the sixth with a home run to center off Kremer.

Garcia singled and Ruiz doubled him home to make it 7-0 in the seventh.

--Field Level Media