Washington Nationals starter Edwin Jackson walked the first batter he faced on Friday night. The third batter doubled, and the cleanup hitter singled in a run.

It was hardly a way to begin what would become among Jackson’s most commanding starts this season, yet that’s exactly how it ended when he left the game after eight innings and 95 pitches during a 2-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night at Nationals Park.

During five of his final seven innings, Jackson retired the side in order. He finished with eight strikeouts, allowed five hits and walked one in lowering his ERA to 3.31 before watching reliever Ryan Mattheus surrender an 11th inning homer to Nick Markakis that was the difference.

“I was just able to come out and locate pitches when I needed to,” Jackson said. “Having great defense behind you, it always makes the game a little easier.”

The offensive support, however, was virtually non-existent behind Jackson, who has no-decisions in six of eight starts this season. He’s yielded three runs or fewer in five of those outings, and he’s pitched at least five innings in every start.

In the Nationals most recent trip, Jackson started twice and left each game with the lead. Washington was one out from winning each time but gave up game-ending homers.

“Like I said a thousand times, offense comes and goes,” Jackson said when asked about his teammates’ lack of production. “More times than not, if we keep pitching the way we’re pitching, we’ll win more games. Theses guys here, they practice real hard, and everybody’s out there having the best ABs they can.”

The Nationals managed one extra-base hit against the Orioles, that coming on Ian Desmond’s sixth-inning homer to tie the score at 1. It was the sixth time this season Washington has scored one run or been shutout.

This latest case of offensive failure comes with the Nationals missing several starters who potent bats, including outfielder Michael Morse, and right fielder Jayson Werth.

“Through nine innings or so, I think we hit one ball hard,” Manager Davey Johnson said. “We had chances. A game like that’s frustrating. That was a tough one. [Jackson] pitched good. I thought the bullpen pitched good. One pitch, ballgame.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nick Markakis homered into the second deck in right field to give the Baltimore Orioles a 2-1 win in 11 innings over the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

Markakis’ blast off Nationals reliever Ryan Mattheus (2-1) helped the Orioles improve to 6-2 in extra innings with all six victories coming on the road.

The first-place Orioles have won four consecutive games.

Four Orioles relievers followed starter Jake Arrieta, including Kevin Gregg (2-1) in the 10th inning. Pedro Strop allowed two runners to reach in the 11th inning before finishing off the Nationals for his third save.

Arrieta matched his career-high with nine strikeouts. He allowed one run and six hits, walking one in seven innings.

Edwin Jackson matched him, allowing one run in eight innings with eight strikeouts and one walk.

Adam Jones drove home the Orioles first run with a first inning infield single against Jackson. Washington’s Ian Desmond tied the game with a solo home run in the sixth inning against Arrieta.

Arrieta entered the game having allowed 13 earned runs over his last two starts, including seven runs in 3 2-3 innings against Tampa Bay on Sunday. No signs of that pitcher existed in the series opener.

Matt Wieters helped his pitcher by throwing out Bryce Harper and Jesus Flores attempting to steal second base.

The 19-year-old Harper was 2 for 3 with a walk.

Xavier Avery led off the Orioles first inning with a walk and one out later moved to third on Markakis’ double to left center. Jones sent a sharp grounder off Jackson’s left heel. The ball caromed behind the mound, allowing Avery to score from third.

Jackson escaped further damage by inducing Wieters into an inning-ending double play grounder. He then settled in, striking out the side in the second inning.

Held scoreless by Arrieta through five innings, the Nationals tied the game in the sixth on Desmond’s sixth home run of the season, landing deep in the left field stands.

NOTES: Jones extended his hitting streak to 10 games for third time this season. Nationals OF Michael Morse (back) is expected to begin an extended spring training assignment on Monday at the Nationals camp in Viera, Florida, manager Davey Johnson said. Morse has not played in a game this season. The Nationals game against the Miami Marlins that was rained out on April 22 has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader on August 3.Saturday’s pitching matchup pits Orioles RHP Jason Hammel against Nationals LHP Ross Detwiler.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

WASHINGTON — Washington Nationals right fielder and Chatham Glenwood graduate Jayson Werth broke his left wrist Sunday night trying to make a sliding catch against the Philadelphia Phillies.

“It’s a clean break,” Washington manager Davey Johnson said after the Nationals’ 9-3 loss. “He’s going to be out for a while.”

Johnson said Werth will see a specialist to evaluate the injury.

Werth was injured in the sixth inning. The right fielder’s glove got caught underneath him and he bent his wrist backward trying to grab Placido Polanco’s sinking liner. Werth stayed on the ground briefly before throwing the ball back to the infield. He walked off holding his left wrist.

Werth wasn’t available to speak to the media after the game.

This is only the latest in a string of injuries that have already hit the Nationals this season. Michael Morse, slated to be the team’s cleanup hitter, hasn’t played because of an injured back muscle. Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman has been on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, and fill-in cleanup hitter Adam LaRoche has missed the past four games because of a sore right side muscle. Zimmerman and LaRoche are hoping to return for Washington’s next game, Tuesday night at Pittsburgh.

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After Jordan Zimmermann’s stellar performance and an unusual outpouring of support for him, the Nationals had another series victory in their back pocket, 6 for 6 this year. They have a 14-4 record, the best start in Washington baseball history, matched only by the 1932 Senators. This laid-back victory put all the others — 13 decided by four runs or fewer, eight decided by two or one — in perspective.

“Not that we can lay down late in the game,” first baseman Adam LaRoche said. “But it’s nice to know every pitch, every play isn’t a potential loss. If we keep flirting with these one- and two-run games, one pitch, one base hit and we can lose. It hasn’t happened. And it’s been awesome.”

If the Nationals wanted to add another nip-and-tuck win, Zimmermann made it possible. He allowed one run in six innings on four hits and no walks to go with six strikeouts, which actually raised his ERA to 1.33, which ranks no better than third among Nationals starters.

“For me, I always want to try to do better than the guy before,” Zimmermann said. That would not be a problem on most staffs. But he follows Gio Gonzalez, who has a 20-inning scoreless streak. And Gonzalez follows Stephen Strasburg.

Before he allowed a home run in the fifth, Zimmermann extended the Nationals’ starting rotation’s scoreless streak to 26 innings, their longest such stretch since baseball returned to Washington. In 14 of 18 games this season, their starters have allowed two or fewer earned runs.

“They’re trying to compete against each other when they’re going out there,” Johnson said. “It’s been fun to watch.”

The difference Wednesday was, without Ryan Zimmerman but against the rancid Padres (5-14), the Nationals didn’t need a great start. LaRoche went 3 for 3 with a walk, raising his on-base percentage to over .400 while producing his team-leading 14th RBI. The Nationals turned a one-run game into a blowout with a four-run seventh, paced by Wilson Ramos’s two-run, bases-loaded single.

The Nationals could lose Zimmerman for another week. They have played all season without cleanup hitter Michael Morse and closer Drew Storen. It hasn’t mattered.

“Whatever adversity is thrown at us, it seems like we’re handling it pretty well,” shortstop Ian Desmond said.

Wednesday, the Nationals afforded Zimmermann the unknown luxury of early run support. In his first three outings, the Nationals scored one run while Zimmerman was still in the game. In the second inning, LaRoche and Rick Ankiel both doubled down the right-field line for the game’s first run.

As spring training drew to a close, some Washington Nationals grew weary of the growing external expectations placed on them. Despite having never finished with a winning record, they had turned into a trendy playoff choice. Several players openly predicted October baseball, too, but not all of them: “Talk is cheap,” Jayson Werth said in late March. “We’re going to have to go out and do it.”

The talk, at least before the season’s first month has elapsed, has given way to a start even the most optimistic prognosticators could not have forecasted. As they prepare to begin a six-game West Coast swing Tuesday night in San Diego, the Nationals entered Monday night tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers, at 12-4, for the best record in the National League.

No pennants have been won in April, the month on the baseball calendar that tells more lies than any other. But the Nationals’ start has validated their hope that they are leaving a dismal past for a bright future. Through 16 games, or 10 percent of the season, they have validated the talk with success on the field.

“It gives us the confidence that we have the talent on this team to do whatever we want,” second baseman Danny Espinosa said. “We’re not even playing that well, in my eyes. Not everyone is hitting. Not everyone is clicking exactly where they want to be right now. For us to be winning ballgames against tough teams and still not have everything going 100 percent right, it’s a pretty good sign.”

The Nationals have used their hot start to prove, to both the league and themselves, that they can move from also-ran to contender. Even if they’re in first place, the Nationals’ start means little in the standings at this juncture; the last-place Philadelphia Phillies have plenty of time to make up a five-game deficit. What does it mean to the Nationals? The start reassured them and created an expectation to win.

“It’s a huge mental hurdle,” veteran Mark DeRosa said. “The guys in here, we thought we had a good team coming out of camp, ready to win. Until you do it, you don’t really, truly know. I think it validates all the talk. It is very early. But we know as a team we can win.”

The Nationals have thrived on close games, holding teams down with their dominant pitching staff and scraping out just enough runs with an offense playing without projected cleanup hitter Michael Morse, on the disabled list until midseason because of a strained right lat. The Nationals have gone 7-3 in games decided by one run or in extra innings. Already, they have won two 2-1 games, two 3-2 games and a 1-0 game.

Over a full season, one-run games typically even out for every team. The Pythagorean Winning Percentage formula, an accurate predictor of future success, gauges where a team’s record should stand based on runs scored and allowed. The Nationals have out-performed their expected record but still, at 10-6, have the third-best Pythagorean winning expectancy in the majors.

“The mettle of a team is winning close ballgames,” Manager Davey Johnson said. “As a manager, I’ve always looked at our record in close games. That talks about clutch hitting. Clutch pitching. That’s very important if you’re going to contend. You can’t get beat up in these close ballgames.”

In his first Nationals start, Jackson walked two batters and allowed one hit, addled by overexcitement and his effort to alter mechanics. Hernandez twirled a looping, first-pitch curveball to Nationals phenom Bryce Harper, who was 5 years old when Hernandez won the 1997 World Series MVP.

A few pitches later, Harper laced a grounder to right for his first hit.

Both Jackson and Hernandez threw two scoreless innings in their first spring tune-ups, both oblivious to what their meeting represented.

At the end of last year, Hernandez met with Nationals Manager Davey Johnson. Hernandez listened as Johnson told him the Nationals would like to bring him back, perhaps as part-time reliever and a full-time mentor. Inside, though, Hernandez knew his tenure in Washington, which included the first pitch after baseball returned, had ended.

The Nationals once relied on Hernandez’s rubbery right arm for consistent innings. They have higher aims now, having traded competence for what they hope will be contention. They traded for Gio Gonzalez, welcomed back Stephen Strasburg, signed Jackson for $11 million and let Hernandez know his best opportunity would come elsewhere.

“I prepared for that,” Hernandez, 37, said. “I go home and told my girlfriend: ‘I don’t think I have a chance to come back to Washington next year.’ But I know that. Everybody, a couple people said: ‘I want you back.’ But inside, I say, ‘Yeah, right. It’s not gonna happen.’ ”

Having navigated the business of major league baseball for almost two decades, Hernandez harbored no ill feelings toward the Nationals. “We’re good,” Hernandez said. “I’m good with Johnson, and Mike Rizzo is a great guy.”

Hernandez said he would still like to work for the Nationals after his career. When that will come, he’s not sure.

“Let’s see if I can go for three more [years], maybe more, I don’t know,” Hernandez said. “I want to be the Jamie Moyer of right-handers.”

Saturday, as chance would have it, he faced his old team in the spring’s first game. “No matter what happens on the field,” Hernandez said, “we’re still friends.”

Michael Morse had sent Hernandez a text message Friday night that read, “I’m coming! You better be ready!”

The Nationals did not send Morse on the road trip, but Jackson, one of the pitchers who made Hernandez expendable, drew the start. Jackson had chosen the Nationals’ one-year, $11 million offer in February, in part, because he believed they could help him correct a mechanical flaw and hide the ball from hitters better in his delivery.

Jackson, who ended his 2011 season by walking seven batters in a World Series game, began his Nationals’ tenure by walking Houston leadoff hitter J.B. Shuck on five pitches. Jackson needed to work on the timing of certain parts of his new delivery — when to take the ball out of his glove, when to swing his arm up. He also faced the jitters that come with any first start. “It’s just getting timing down,” Jackson said.

Jackson walked a batter in the second inning, and overall he threw 12 strikes in 28 pitches. From the wind-up, the motion he wants to change, Jackson faced three batters and walked two.

Pitching coach Steve McCatty has tried to limit Jackson’s focus on his mechanics. He fears Jackson could become bogged down by the change as he prepares for the season, losing his natural ability.

“When I talk to him, we don’t talk mechanics,” McCatty said.

McCatty and Jackson will keep working together, and Hernandez will find his way with the Astros, the team with the worst record in the majors last year. His old team will move on and up without him. For one day, the Nationals and Hernandez crossed paths again.

“It was really weird,” Johnson said. “I love the guy for a lot of reasons, just because he’s an athlete and a heck of a pitcher. He’s been a great influence on this ball club. Toward the end of the season, he sacrificed his starts for some of these young guys. He’s just a special person.”