Lowe and Wood hit HRs before Tena scores in 9th to lead Nationals past Orioles 4-3

BALTIMORE (AP) — José Tena came around from second base to score the tiebreaking run on an infield hit by Nasim Nuñez in the ninth inning, and the Washington Nationals got home runs from Nathaniel Lowe and James Wood in a 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.

After reaching on a walk from Félix Bautista (0-1) and taking second on a groundout, Tena was off and running when Nuñez hit a grounder to first baseman Ryan Mountcastle. Nuñez beat the throw to Bautista by a step before Tena came home.

Jorge López (6-0) worked the eighth and Kyle Finnegan got three outs to earn his 14th save.

Baltimore stranded 15 runners on base and went 4 for 15 with runners in scoring position.

Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore compiled some unusual numbers over 3 2/3 innings. The left-hander threw 102 pitches and struck out nine but yielded 10 hits, two walks and two runs.

Both center fielders made sensational catches early in the game. Baltimore's Cedric Mullins raced to the warning track before reaching out to his side to snag a drive by Nuñez in the third inning, and Jacob Young leaped at the wall to rob Mountcastle of a homer in the fourth.

Bryan Baker got the Orioles out of a jam in the seventh by striking out pinch-hitter Luis Garcia Jr. and Nuñez with two men on. Then Wood tied it in the eighth with his 12th homer of the season.

The Orioles got 14 hits, ending a 33-game run in which they had 11 or fewer. The team record is 35 straight, set in 1988 by the team that started 0-21.

The series continues Saturday with Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (2-1, 4.00 ERA) facing 37-year-old RHP Kyle Gibson (0-2, 13.11), who's yielded seven homers in his three starts this season.

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Baltimore Orioles' Ramon Laureano hits a single during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, May 16, 2025, in Baltimore (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)

Washington Nationals' Nathaniel Lowe (33) scores after hitting a home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, May 16, 2025, in Baltimore (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)

Baltimore Orioles' Jackson Holliday celebrates after hitting a double during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, May 16, 2025, in Baltimore (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)

Washington Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, May 16, 2025, in Baltimore (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)

Washington Nationals' Nathaniel Lowe hits a home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, May 16, 2025, in Baltimore (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is drifting in mixed trading Wednesday as the countdown ticks to an afternoon announcement from the Federal Reserve on what it will do with interest rates. Oil prices, meanwhile, continued to spurt higher because of the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, a day after falling from its all-time high due to drops for artificial-intelligence stocks and worries about higher oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 314 points, or 0.6%, as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was virtually unchanged.

Another procession of profit reports from companies showing stronger growth for the start of 2026 than analysts expected helped support the market.

Visa jumped 8.8% after delivering stronger results than analysts expected, and CEO Ryan McInerney said consumer spending remained resilient in the quarter. Starbucks climbed 10% after likewise reporting better results than expected, while saying customers spent more at each visit, particularly at its North American stores.

Most companies so far this earnings reporting season have been topping analysts’ expectations, which has helped the U.S. stock market rally to records despite the high gasoline costs and soured confidence among U.S. households caused by the Iran war.

But those not meeting expectations have gotten punished. GE Healthcare Technologies dropped 12.6% after falling short of analysts’ forecasts. Robinhood Markets tumbled 13% after reporting growth in profit that was not as strong as analysts expected.

Booking Holdings swung between losses and gains after the online travel company said the war with Iran is affecting its results and kept some potential customers from booking rooms during the latest quarter.

The company behind Booking.com, Priceline and other brands is expecting the conflict to continue affecting its business through the end of June. It could affect travel not only in the Middle East but also in major transit corridors, such as between Europe and Asia.

The clearest result in financial markets of the war with Iran is how high oil prices have jumped. The price for a barrel of Brent crude to be delivered in June rose again Wednesday, up 5.9% to $117.81. Brent for delivery in July, which is where more of the trading is happening in the oil market, rose 5.3% to $109.92.

Brent’s price is approaching its high point of the war, slightly above $119 per barrel, and is well above its roughly $70 level from before the war. A ceasefire is still in place between the United States and Iran, but so is a closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and a U.S. blockade of Iran's ships. That's all keeping oil tankers pent up in the Persian Gulf and crude prices high.

Expensive oil is one of the main reasons virtually all of Wall Street believes the Federal Reserve will not announce a resumption of its cuts to interest rates in the afternoon. While lower rates can help the economy, they also risk worsening inflation.

The consensus among traders is instead that the Fed will hold the federal funds rate steady in what’s likely to be Jerome Powell’s final Fed meeting as its chair. The bigger question is whether Powell will say if he’s staying on at the central bank after ceding the chairmanship. He has been a target of President Donald Trump’s anger for not cutting interest rates more quickly and more sharply.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.39% from 4.36% late Tuesday following the latest rise in oil prices.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, several AI stocks held firmer ahead of reports due after trading ends for the day from the biggest spenders on AI technology. Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft could help show whether all the investment in AI chips and data centers is providing the kind of profits and productivity that would make it all worth it. Worries are high on Wall Street that it may not be and that all the immense spending is just a bubble.

Broadcom added 0.3%, a day after falling 4.4%. Nvidia, though, slipped 0.9%.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe following a stronger finish in Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.7% for one of the world’s strongest moves.

AP Business Writer Chan Ho-him contributed to this report.

FILE - A train arrives at a Wall Street subway station in New York's Financial District on Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader reacts near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)