Washington Nationals: 5 to watch in Beltway Series
By Ron Juckett
The Washington Nationals tangle with their Interleague rival Baltimore Orioles for four games. Here are five players to watch in this home-and-home tilt.
The Washington Nationals road show moves to Maryland for two before heading home for another two against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Beltway Series follows another successful weekend in Philadelphia. Taking two of three from those pesky Philadelphia Phillies, the Nats carry a healthy 6.5 game over the befuddled New York Mets.
If you regularly watch Washington, their 21-10 record is a surprise. The bullpen continues to scar small children for life, but a prolific offense can score more than those pitchers cough up. As long as the Mets beat themselves and the rest of the National League East stumbles, the playoff are nearly certain.
As they did with the Colorado Rockies on recently, Washington runs into a solid Baltimore team. At 20-10, the Orioles are tied with the New York Yankees in the American League East heading into the Yanks Sunday Night Baseball meeting with the Chicago Cubs.
Natural rivals, these are the series that make interleague play worth watching.
Separated by 37 miles, both teams are deeply ingrained with Washington baseball fans as the O’s were the local team from 1971 through 2004. Outside of the rare Ravens-Redskins regular season NFL game, this is the only pro sports meeting between the two cities.
Both teams share on-field success, but their personalities could not be further apart.
Nats manager Dusty Baker runs a slick clubhouse policed by the players. Relaxed and professional, they emerged from the Matt Williams era as divisional champions last year.
O’s skipper Buck Showalter is old school. A no-nonsense manager who keeps things tight, he gets his teams to the playoffs. Showalter is a scowler while Baker smiles twirling a toothpick. Different approaches, same results.
In its 13th season, the schedule has these games back-to-back now. Monday and Tuesday in Baltimore. Wednesday and Thursday from the friendly confines of Washington. The Birds won three of four last year.
Here are five to watch as these two teams collide.