WASHINGTON -- An attempted comeback forced Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton into a game that shouldnt have required him. Not long after, his perfect run ended.Brittons remarkable streak of 43 consecutive games without allowing an earned run ended before he shut down a ninth-inning rally to help the Orioles hold off the Washington Nationals for a 10-8 victory Wednesday night.Daniel Murphys grand slam off Parker Bridwell cut the Orioles lead from seven runs to three, and Britton allowed a single to Bryce Harper and an RBI double to Anthony Rendon.It was the first earned run Britton has given up since April 30. His string of 43 games without one is the longest since the earned run became official, according to ESPN Stats and Info -- that dates back more than 100 years.But Britton got Ryan Zimmerman to ground into a game-ending double play as Baltimore won its third in a row against Washington.Theyre a great team over there, and theyre not just going to give up, said Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, who went 4 for 6 with four RBI. We can never take it for granted. Theyre a great team over there, so you have to play till the last outs made.Baltimore built a lead on the strength of Machados two-run home, his 29th of the season, in the first and Matt Wieters three-run drive in the eighth.Starter Wade Miley (8-10) did the job, allowing two runs on seven hits and striking out five in five-plus innings with what manager Buck Showalter felt was a crisper fastball than usual.Miley picked up his first win since a trade from the Seattle Mariners.It feels good, no doubt, the left-hander said. Obviously it wasnt as sharp as I wanted to be, but its something to build on and Ive got five days to do it again.After losing six of their previous eight games, the Orioles are feeling good given their success against the Nationals. Coupled with losses by the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox, the Orioles are one game back of those teams for first place in the AL East.We have it there at arms length, said Machado, who also had a pair of RBI singles. Were in a good spot. I know we like the guys that we have on our team right now, and were just going to have to keep fighting as one.The Nationals have lost six of nine but still lead the Miami Marlins by seven games in the NL East. They got a rough start out of Tanner Roark (13-7), who allowed five runs, four earned, in five innings and hit three of the first 14 batters he faced.Couldnt locate. Its as simple as that, Roark said. Not my best outing but what I love is that we came back and came pretty darn close to tying it up and possibly winning it.TRAINERS ROOMOrioles: OF Joey Rickard is set to see the doctor Sept. 2 to determine how his right thumb ligament injury is progressing. Manager Buck Showalter hopes Rickard will be back before the end of the season. ... LHP Brian Duensing (left elbow inflammation) threw seven pitches in an inning in the Gulf Coast League, Showalter said.Nationals: INF Stephen Drew saw an inner ear specialist to get a shot in his ear, according to team broadcaster MASN. He has been out since late July with vertigo.HARPER HOLDS MEDALSHarper became Katie Ledeckys medal holder while the swimmer threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Ledecky, who won one silver and four gold medals at the Rio Olympics, handed them to Harper before throwing to reliever Shawn Kelley.TURN, TURN, TURNWith his single in the seventh, Trea Turner tied the Montreal Expos/Nationals franchise record with hits in eight consecutive plate appearances. Andre Dawson and Dmitri Young remained in the record books when Turner struck out in the ninth to finish his day 4 for 5.UP NEXTWith Chris Tillman on the disabled list, the Orioles turn to RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (5-10, 6.94 ERA) to make his first start since July 28. Hell face Nationals RHP Max Scherzer (13-7, 3.05). Phillies Jerseys China . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days. Custom Phillies Jersey China .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. http://www.customphilliesjersey.com/ . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Cheap Custom Phillies Jersey .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. Custom Phillies Jerseys .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. PYONGYANG, North Korea -- Despite claiming only two gold medals in Rio, North Korea is as determined as ever to fulfill one of leader Kim Jong Uns primary goals: to become an international sports superpower.North Koreas small Olympic team won its two golds in weightlifting, where it has a number of world-class and world-record-holding lifters, and gymnastics. Weightlifter Rim Jong Sim won the gold in the womens 75-kilogram division, while gymnast Ri Se Gwang won the mens vault. The North also won three silver and two bronze medals.When our Rim Jong Sim stood on the podium with our national anthem playing, she cried and my mother and I cried, too, as we watched on TV, Ri Yun Gum, an 18-year-old government worker, said Monday in Pyongyang as the Rio games were coming to a close. I think our athletes are able to win not just because they train hard, but because of their mental toughness.The performance was a tad shy of expectations, since North Korea had four golds in London.But transforming North Korea, which has very limited economic resources and a population of only about 25 million, into a player to be reckoned with on the global sports stage is one of Kims pet projects, and he has poured funds into the development and training of promising athletes over the past several years.It has already made a visible mark on Pyongyang.The relatively affluent capital has seen the rise of a number of major new or renovated sports venues, and each year its usually restricted streets are opened for the Pyongyang Marathon, which has become a major tourist attraction. Though pickup volleyball games and football matches in schoolyards have long been a staple in the city, its now a common sight to see young people out jogging or even canoeing on the two main rivers that run through Pyongyang.And while South Korea lets its top athletes get out of military service as a gold medal reward, elite athletes returning home to the North after winning international competitions often get a heros welcome -- and maybe a condo.Of course, Pyongyangs push to garner international prestige and generate national pride by winning medals isnt terribly original. It appears to have been pulled straight out of the playbook of former Soviet bloc countries like East Germany, and is similar to the strong political significance sports are still given in Russia and China, North Koreas two biggest historical backers.But the campaign is also seen as part of Kims effort to make North Korea a more modern nation.There are two reasons why sports are important, Jang Sok Ha, manager of the newly opened Pyongyang Sports Equipment Factory, told The Associated Press on Monday. People in good health can work harder, but they also need cultural rest and recreation.Jangs spparkling new factory, which opened in April, is a big part of the drive and is one of the largest in the country.dddddddddddd. Its task is to provide regular people affordable sports equipment -- from soccer balls to badminton rackets.Standing in the factory showroom, surrounded by everything from field hockey balls to judo uniforms and bags of talcum powder for weightlifters, Jang proudly produced a basketball signed by former NBA star Dennis Rodman, one of the only foreigners to ever meet with Kim. He then grabbed a ball emblazoned with Naesongsan, his factorys brand.Our balls are good enough to be used by the NBA, too, he said.North Koreans are able to follow the Olympics, or at least some selected events, on TV and radio broadcasts and in newspapers, all of which are run by the state.I watched the games every day, said housewife Hong Un Byol, 34. I was so happy to see our national flag raised after the gold medals. The athletes practiced a lot to give pleasure to the Marshal. Kim is often respectfully referred to by that title, one of the many that he holds.Beyond the playing field, sports have from time to time provided brief respites in the normally tense relations between the two Koreas.During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, North and South Koreans marched together under a flag that symbolized unification. North Koreas womens soccer team won gold at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, with the South winning bronze. Many South Koreans delighted in seeing players from both countries celebrate together after the medal ceremony.While such sentiments were generally absent during the Rio Olympics, one of the most touching moments came when gymnasts Hong Un Jong of North Korea and Lee Eun-ju of South Korea met on the sidelines during their event and posed together smiling for a selfie. Photos of their warm moments delighted many South Koreans and provided a rare note of concord in otherwise abysmal relations between the rivals.Officially, however, both countries frown on such meetings.The Korean Peninsula is still technically in a state of war because there has been no peace treaty signed to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War. Nearly 30,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea in what Seoul and Washington claim is a necessary deterrent to any threats from North Korea. Turning up the heat, the U.S. and South Korea just kicked off annual war games that Pyongyang says are a prelude to invasion.Games or no games, accusations against the South of trying to create trouble -- not of hugging gymnasts -- are what dominate the headlines here.---Talmadge is the APs Pyongyang bureau chief. ' ' '