After mowing down the White Sox over a three-game sweep at Camden Yards over the weekend, the Orioles are all set and locked in to kick off this year’s version of “The Battle of the Beltways.”

This could turn out to be the best match-up between the two clubs of all-time, as both clubs are in sparkling form at the moment and make up two of MLB’s top three clubs to date in 2017.

The Orioles (20-10) trail the New York Yankees by a hair in the chase for first place, while the Nationals enter on a four-game winning streak and having won six of their last eight contests. The first two games of the series will be played at Camden Yards, where the Orioles boast a stellar 11-3 record.

The Nationals (21-10) have been practically untouchable in the NL East over the early goings this season and already own a 6.5-game lead over the New York Mets for first place. After rattling off a stellar 17-8 record in April, the Nationals have gone 4-2 to begin the month of May and will begin the series boasting a superb 12-4 road record.

The Nationals offensive output has been simply incredible this season. Washington leads the league in runs (194), OPS (.852), OBP (.362), AVG (.285) and ranks second in HR (50). Ryan Zimmerman (.435, 13 HR, 34 RBI) is on pace to win the triple crown, Bryce Harper (.376, 9 HR, 27 RBI) is back to his MVP form, Daniel Murphy (.341, 5 HR, 28 RBI) is tearing the cover off the ball and Anthony Rendon (.288, 5 HR, 23 RBI) has come back with a bang. Simply put, these guys are on top of the world at the moment.

In a match-up that is pretty much like fighting fire versus fire, it’s anyone’s guess as to how this one will turn out. We just know that this will be a must-watch series.

Let’s take a look at the probables:

Game One

Kevin Gausman (1-3, 7.55 ERA) will take the mound versus Gio Gonzalez (3-0, 1.64 ERA) on Monday.

Gausman will be hoping for better luck after being ejected in the second inning during his last start versus Boston after hitting Xander Bogaerts with the slowest pitch he had thrown all season.

Gonzalez has been magnificent for the Nationals. The southpaw has recorded six-plus innings in five of his six starts while allowing two earned runs or fewer in all six. He’s also allowed one run or less in four of his six outings to date.

Game Two

Ubaldo Jimenez (1-1, 6.58 ERA) will take the hill against Max Scherzer (4-2, 2.66 ERA) on Tuesday.

After posting a 12.15 ERA over his previous two starts, Jimenez recorded three scoreless innings in the wake of Gausman’s ejection versus Boston and will be looking to pick up where he left off.

Scherzer has been ruthless this season. He’s gone six-plus innings in all six of his starts to date while allowing four hits or fewer and two runs or fewr in four of his six outings. To top it off, he’s recorded seven strikeouts or more every time he’s touched the mound this season.

Game Three

(Writers Note: Game three and four will be played at Nationals Park in DC)

Wade Miley (1-1, 2.27 ERA) will get the nod versus Stephen Strasburg (3-1, 2.66 ERA) on Wednesday.

Miley will be looking to bounce back after leaving his last start against Chicago due to two line-drives hitting him and one of them leaving him with a swollen wrist. However, he should be thanking his lucky stars that it wasn’t worse. When he’s not getting drilled with comebackers, Miley has been stellar this season for the Orioles.

Strasburg has been on fire all season long for the Nationals. He’s gone seven-plus innings in five of his six starts while allowing six hits or fewer and three runs or fewer in all six of his outings to date. He’s allowed two runs or fewer in four of six.

Game Four

Dylan Bundy (5-1, 2.17 ERA) will get the ball against presumably A.J. Cole (1-0, 1.50 ERA) in the series finale on Thursday.

Bundy has been remarkable for the Orioles this season and leads the league in quality starts (7) and is tied for the league-lead in wins (5). He’s also allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of his seven starts this season.

Cole was impressive during his season debut versus the Phillies last Sunday, allowing just a single run on six hits over six innings en route to picking up his first win of the season.

Notes

-Since the beginning of the 2015 season, the Orioles are 7-3 versus the Nationals.

– Adam Jones has went a decent 6-for-25 (.240) with a homer and two RBI versus Gio Gonzalez, but Mark Trumbo (3-for-16) and Chris Davis (2-for-15) won’t be looking forward to facing the two-time All-Star.

– Jones, however, owns Max Scherzer. He’s gone 12-for-28 (.429) with three homers and four RBI against the Nationals ace. Chris Davis (8-for-24) has also fared well versus the former Cy Young Award winner. J.J. Hardy (6-for-35), Manny Machado (1-for-18), Jonathan Schoop (2-for-12) and Mark Trumbo (1-for-11) will be hoping for the best.

– Machado has somehow gone 3-for-3 against Stephen Strasburg. The rest of the team doesn’t even have three hits against him over two meetings.

– Machado will be looking to stay hot. He’s hitting .311 (14-for-45) with five homers and eleven RBI over his last eleven contests.

– Trumbo has also started to catch fire as of late. He’s gone 7-for-16 with three runs and an RBI over the course of a four-game hitting streak and is hitting .333 (9-for-27) over his last seven.

– Davis could finally be warming up. He’s went 6-for-16 at the dish with a homer and two RBI over his last five ballgames.

– Trey Mancini has brushed off a 2-for-24 slump in a big way by going 8-for-13 with two doubles, one homer and six RBI over the span of a four-game hitting tear. He’ll look for more fireworks versus DC.

That’s it for now, Orioles fans! Enjoy the series!