Garcia hits tiebreaking sacrifice fly, Wood and Bell homer as Nationals edge Orioles 4-3

WASHINGTON (AP) — Luis Garcia Jr.’s sacrifice fly to deep center plated Alex Call with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth, James Wood led off the game with his eighth homer and the Washington Nationals beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Wednesday.

Wood drove the fifth pitch of the game by Orioles starter Tomoyaki Sugano 431 feet over the right-center field wall and Josh Bell added a two-run shot as the Nationals raced out to a 3-0 lead on three hits in the first inning.

Kyle Finnegan allowed two singles but struck out Tyler O’Neill and got Heston Kjerstad to pop out in the ninth for his ninth save of the season. Jorge Lopez (1-0) earned the win. Gregory Soto (0-1) took the loss.

Wood’s blast left the park at 116.3 mph and was second career leadoff homer. The first came against Mitch Keller on April 15 at Pittsburgh.

Bell’s homer was his fourth of the season and 27th of his career at Nationals Park.

Washington Nationals’ Josh Bell celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Down 3-0, the Orioles scored single runs in the third, seventh and eighth innings. Jordan Westburg’s triple led off the eighth. Ramon Urias’s sacrifice fly to center field brought him home to tie the game at 3.

Trevor Williams skirted through trouble later in his outing, allowing one run on six hits over five innings, striking out five and walking one. He threw 99 pitches, 61 for strikes.

Key moment

Sugano settled in after the first inning, allowing just two hits over the next six to toss seven innings for the second consecutive start. He struck out one and walked none.

Key stat

Washington Nationals’ Josh Bell (19) times his swing while on deck as Keibert Ruiz (20) is at bat during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

After going 2-for-26, Rutschman singled in his first two at-bats, including an RBI single to get the Orioles on the board in the third.

Up next

Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore (2-2, 3.41 ERA), who leads the majors with 45 strikeouts, takes on Orioles left-hander Cade Povich (0-2, 6.38) in the series finale.