After a massive letdown of a series versus Houston, the Orioles will now take on the first-place Nationals in the 2016 edition of the Battle of the Beltways.
The Orioles (67-56) currently stand 2.5 games behind the Blue Jays at the top of the standings after dropping three in a row versus Houston, while they’ve also been just simply off the pace as of late with a 4-9 record in their last 13 games and an 8-11 mark in the month of August.
The Nationals (73-50) own a commanding 8.5-game advantage over the second place Miami Marlins for the top spot in the NL East and have been in sparkling form this month, posting a 12-6 record. Washington has also been spectacular at home this season with a 36-23 record and just as impressive on the road, going 37-27 away from Nationals Park.
If there is a silver lining for the Orioles coming into the four-game, two-city clash, it’s that they’ve posted a 33-23 record against the Nationals since their move to DC and a 17-9 record against them since the start of the 2011 season.
The first two games of the series will be played at Camden Yards before the two clubs swing to DC for the final two games of the four-game set.
Dylan Bundy (6-4, 3.36 ERA) is set to take on Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 3.59 ERA) in the series opener on Monday.
Going into his first career start versus Washington, Bundy will be looking to shake off the worst start of his young career after allowing five runs on nine hits over 4 1/3 innings in a 8-1 loss against the Red Sox on August 17th.
Strasburg ,on the other hand has had a monkey wrench thrown into his Cy Young-caliber season after recording a 0-3 record with a woeful 14.66 ERA over his last three starts. The 28-year-old two-time All-Star has seen his ERA rise from 2.63 to 3.59 ERA during that span. Most of that damage, however, was inflicted after the San Diego native allowed nine runs on nine hits over just 1 2/3 innings in a 12-10 loss versus Colorado last Wednesday.
In two career starts versus Baltimore, Strasburg owns a 1-0 record and a 2.25 ERA.
Ed. Note – Strasburg was placed on the DL Monday afternoon. A.J. Cole will start in his place for Washington.
Kevin Gausman (4-10, 4.11 ERA) will take the mound against Reynaldo Lopez (2-1, 4.37 ERA) in Tuesday night’s contest.
While Gausman wasn’t perfect in his last start versus Houston, allowing four runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings, he still managed to fan eight batters while walking just one in the Orioles 13-5 triumph.
The 25-year-old flamethrower will carry a 4-1 record and a stellar 2.73 ERA at home this season into his third career start versus the Nationals.
Lopez, 22, has been touted as a future star for quite some time now and has been showing why over his last few outings. Over his last two starts, the native Dominican has won both contests while registering a sparkling 1.29 ERA. In his last start versus Atlanta, Lopez allowed just a single earned run on four hits over seven innings while striking out 11 batters in the process.
Wade Miley (7-10, 5.58 ERA) will get the nod versus Tanner Roark (13-6, 2.87 ERA) in DC on Wednesday.
Miley hasn’t been the key deadline acquisition that the Orioles had hoped for since his arrival and owns a 0-2 record with a dreadful 9.53 ERA over his first four outings in an O’s uniform. After his implosion last Friday versus Houston, the 29-year-old southpaw now owns a bloated 10.50 ERA over his last three starts.
Roark, 29, has been simply sensational for the Nationals on the campaign and even more so as of late. Over his last five starts, the Illinois native and Illinois alum owns a perfect 4-0 mark and a sparkling 2.14 ERA. Roark also boasts a 7-4 record and a stellar 2.44 ERA at Nationals Park this season.
Chris Tillman (15-4, 3.59 ERA) will take the hill in the series finale against Max Scherzer (13-7, 3.05 ERA).
While Tillman has been the pillar of strength in the Orioles rotation this season, even he has been out of form lately. In his last five outings, the Orioles ace has gone 1-3 with a dismal 6.66 ERA.
Over five career starts versus DC, Tillman is 1-0 with a 4.40 ERA.
Scherzer hasn’t been at his best as of late with a 6.97 ERA over his last two appearances and as a result, his ERA has jumped from 2.80 to 3.05 during that span. Still, the four-time All-Star has had another unanimously stellar season for the Nationals.
The Orioles sluggers will be facing an absolute battle against the NL’s second-best pitching staff and #1 ranked bullpen. In fact, the Nationals rank inside the top three in the NL in almost every major statistical pitching category for starters and relievers.
The offense in DC is also not to be taken lightly. The Nationals will ride into Baltimore ranked as the fourth-best scoring offense in the NL (4.87 runs per game) on top of ranking 2nd in the NL in home runs (164).
Led by former Met and two-time All-Star Daniel Murphy (.345, 23 HR, 89 RBI), star catcher Wilson Ramos (.322, 19 HR, 67 RBI) and of course, 23-year-old megastar and reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper (.246, 22 HR, 68 RBI), the Nationals line-up is pretty loaded. It also includes All-Star third baseman Anthony Rendon (.272, 15 HR, 57 RBI), and veterans Jayson Werth (.253, 16 HR, 55 RBI) and Ryan Zimmerman (.229, 13 HR, 40 RBI).
Simply put, these guys can rake with the best of them.
After falling out of first place in the series versus Boston followed by a disheartening series versus Houston, the Orioles must find a way to gain momentum before hitting the grueling and intense final stretch of the season in what is September baseball. This upcoming series against the Nationals won’t be easy by any means, but a few wins out of this series may be critical to the O’s playoff chances. They can’t afford to drop three of four again.
Guys, it’s time to go to work.
