WASHINGTON -- The Orioles always knew salvaging a series win off a Max Scherzer-led Nationals squad was going to be a tall task. And with newly acquired reliever Kelvin Herrera and Sean Doolittle being the only two other pitchers Baltimore faced, that task grew monumental.
Despite receiving a strong start from Kevin Gausman and keeping Scherzer out of the win column, the Orioles fell to the Nationals, 4-2, on Thursday night at Nationals Park.
Colby Rasmus made the most of his return from a long two-plus months on the disabled list, homering off Scherzer in his first at-bat since April 6 to put the Orioles up, 1-0, early.