Wieters picks up his ninth game-winning hit — and first against the Orioles

WASHINGTON — So, ever seen that before?

Catcher Matt Wieters with a clutch hit to end a game and send the opposition home unhappy?

You saw it eight times as an Oriole.

Eight separate times Wieters had ended a big league game by driving in the winning run.

Now, it’s nine.

Eight times as an Oriole, and once against them.

Wieters’ ninth-inning, bases loaded single down the first-base line Wednesday night scored two and gave the Washington Nationals a 7-6 comeback victory, snapping the Orioles’ six-game winning streak.

“We just needed a win. We’d kind of played poorly the first two games all around,” Wieters said. “Finally, we were able to get some momentum there in the last inning. We had some great at-bats earlier in the lineup. I was just looking for something I could try and get elevated a little bit and stay out of the double play. And I almost hit it right to (Chris) Davis anyways. But I was able to get it through, and (get a) big win.”

Wieters had three hits in five at-bats Wednesday against the team he played for in all eight of his previous MLB seasons.

In the first three games of the Battle of the Beltways, the Orioles are 2-1; meanwhile, Wieters is 5-for-13 (.385 average) at the plate with three RBIs.

Considered one of the Orioles’ most clutch hitters in recent memory, Wieters said he took no extra satisfaction in coming through against his old club.

“No, other than the fact that they kicked our butts (at Camden Yards), and it was time to come back and try to get a win,” he said. “That’s the thing, the competition is what I enjoy. So, any time they beat you, you want to come back and beat them. That’s why we all play the game.”

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he knows first-hand that Wieters is dangerous with the game on the line, but so is the entire Nats’ lineup.

“All those guys, they have such a deep lineup. Any time you have Matt Wieters hitting eighth, you know what kind of lineup you’ve got,” Showalter said. “Matt’s a good man. I’m not gonna be a big fan of it tonight, but there’s part of you, as a guy that’s been around, you know that he can rise to those occasions.”