Orioles 2, Braves 1 (11 innings)
BALTIMORE -- Matt Wieters led off the bottom of the 11th inning with a home run that gave the Baltimore Orioles a 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves in an interleague match-up Monday night.
Wieters, the Orioles' catcher, crushed a 1-0 pitch from left-hander Luis Avilan (2-4) to center to snap a 1-1 tie and give the Orioles (49-49) their third straight victory.
Right-hander Brad Brach (4-2) got the victory thanks to a scoreless 11th. The Braves missed on several scoring chances and ended up stranding eight runners and going 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
The Braves (46-53) had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the ninth on third baseman Adonis Garcia's solo homer off Orioles closer Zach Britton. But Baltimore quickly answered in the bottom half against former closer Jim Johnson.
Center fielder Adam Jones started the tying rally against right-hander Johnson with an infield single leading off the ninth. Wieters then lined a single to center, putting runners at first and third with none out before shortstop J.J. Hardy lined a game-tying sacrifice fly to left.
Starters Alex Wood and Kevin Gausman shut down the opposing teams for much of the game. Wood, a left-hander, baffled the Orioles and allowed just three hits in 7 1/3 shutout innings. He retired 12 in a row at one point and struck out seven with two walks.
Gausman, a right-hander who pitched at LSU and faced Wood in college (Georgia), matched him. He threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings and gave up six hits, striking out five with one walk.
The game also marked the return of Atlanta right fielder Nick Markakis to Baltimore. He played nine years for the Orioles, who let him walk away in free agency last winter for a four-year deal with the Braves.
Markakis batted leadoff and drew a huge standing ovation when he came to the plate to start the game. He saluted the fans and then doubled to left. The Braves stranded him there.
The Braves threatened a few times in the early innings but could not score. They put runners in scoring position in the first, third and fourth but weren't able to get the timely hit.
Baltimore couldn't do much better in the first part of the game. The Orioles put a runner at second with two outs in the first -- left fielder Nolan Reimold after a single and wild pitch -- but stranded him there and got just one other hit in the first five innings.
NOTES: LF Nolan Reimold took over the leadoff spot as Orioles manager Buck Showalter continued to rotate players there. 3B Manny Machado has batted there for 72 games, but Showalter used DH Jimmy Paredes and LF David Lough there over the weekend in Tampa Bay. This was the first time Reimold batted leadoff this season while Machado stayed in the No. 3 spot for the fourth straight game. ...The Orioles came into this series having committed the fewest errors in the major leagues (39). They were three better than the Dodgers, who are tops in the National League. The Orioles did not commit any errors on Monday. ...1B Freddie Freeman made his second straight start for the Braves after coming off the disabled list (right wrist contusion) Saturday. He had been placed on the DL June 23, retroactive to five days earlier. ...The Braves certainly welcomed Freeman back to their lineup as he entered Monday hitting .411 with runners in scoring position -- the best in the majors.