WASHINGTON, DC — For every bit of the 5.3 seconds Anthony Santander’s go-ahead home run hung in the cool Washington air Saturday night, Nationals Park was silent. The outburst that rung out from the Orioles dugout when it hit the left-field seats was startling by comparison.
An offense that a night before couldn’t be stopped looked hopeless Saturday until a pair of back-to-back pinch-hit home runs by Pat Valaika and Pedro Severino to begin the eighth inning, with Santander’s blast the difference in a 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals that put the Orioles (7-7) in position for another improbable weekend sweep against a World Series hopeful.