The Baltimore Orioles came within 90 feet of forcing extra innings, but a night of offensive struggles proved too much to overcome. Despite a dramatic two-run rally in the ninth, the O's fell 3-2 to the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

The story of the game was Zack Littell, a pitcher who entered with a bloated 6.94 ERA and the most home runs allowed in the majors this season. Yet, he silenced Baltimore's bats for five scoreless innings, outdueling Orioles starter Shane Baz. It was a frustrating twist for a Baltimore team that had been showing signs of life at the plate.

Baz, however, delivered his finest performance since joining the Orioles. The right-hander bounced back from two consecutive rough outings where he allowed five runs each, setting a season high by pitching seven innings. He surrendered three runs on six hits and three walks while striking out four. Considering the Nationals entered the game ranked second in MLB with 5.36 runs per game, Baz's ability to work out of jams—stranding six runners—was a major positive.

Washington's damage came on a two-run homer from left fielder Daylen Lile in the sixth inning, who finished just a triple shy of the cycle. Third baseman Brady House added a sacrifice fly in the fourth for the Nationals' other run.

For the Orioles, the offense simply had no answers—first against Littell, then against left-hander Andrew Alvarez, who tossed three scoreless relief innings. But the ninth inning brought a flicker of hope. Alvarez walked two batters to open the frame, and Nationals manager Blake Butera—a close friend of Orioles skipper Craig Albernaz from their time together in the Tampa Bay Rays' system—turned to right-hander Gus Varland.

Varland walked Leody Taveras to load the bases with no outs. After securing two quick outs, Butera went back to his bullpen, calling on right-hander Richard Lovelady. The O's finally broke through on a sacrifice fly by Jeremiah Jackson and an RBI single from Gunnar Henderson, putting the tying run on third. But with the game on the line, Adley Rutschman struck out swinging, ending the comeback bid and leaving Baltimore with a 20-25 record.