Two of the hottest teams in the major leagues will face off in an interleague showdown this week. The Washington Nationals will make the short trek to match up with the Baltimore Orioles, and it’s possible one of them leaves with the best record in baseball. The Nationals enter at 21-11 while Baltimore is right behind at 20-10.
While Washington is only a half-game better than the Orioles at this point, it has the superior lineup and pitching staff. However, the location of this series helps even that out in a series that will should be an entertaining one.
The Nationals have the ability to come into Baltimore and win at least two of these games, and bettors should feel good about that notion because of the starting pitching matchups.
This series will be contested from Monday, May 8 through Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland.
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Pitching Matchups
Washington could have the pitching advantage in every game of this series. The Nationals will send left-hander Gio Gonzalez to the mound on Monday. He is 3-0 on the season with a 1.64 ERA. The Orioles will counter with Kevin Gausman, who is 1-3 with a 7.55 ERA. Gausman was ejected for hitting Xander Bogaerts with a pitch in the second inning of his last start. While the Orioles vehemently disagreed with the call at the time, it could help them in this one as he should be fresh.
In the second game of the series on Tuesday, the Nationals will send ace Max Scherzer to the mound. He is 4-2 on the season with a 2.66 ERA. Scherzer has struck out 51 batters in 40.1 innings and will be a handful for the Orioles. Baltimore will send Ubaldo Jimenez to the mound. He is 1-1 with an ugly 6.58 ERA on the season. Jimenez used to be one of the best pitchers in baseball but is now a below average hurler.
The Nationals will wrap up the series with Stephen Strasburg expected to get the ball on Wednesday. He is 3-1 on the year with a 2.66 ERA. He threw 5.2 innings of scoreless ball last time out and will aim for another nice performance. The Orioles hope to get something solid out of Wade Miley. He is 1-1 with a sparkling 2.27 ERA on the season. Miley was hit by batted balls twice last time out, forcing him early out of his start against the White Sox.
Bryce Harper Watch
The Nationals have been without one of the game’s biggest stars for the past three days as he nurses a groin injury. Washington has downplayed the severity of the injury and it seems likely Harper gets back on the field for this series, but confirmation will be needed.
Harper’s availability is huge, as he is batting .376 with a .504 on-base percentage and a 1.227 OPS. Harper has nine homers, 27 RBIs and leads the league with 35 runs and 26 walks on the year. He was the MVP of the National League two years but struggled in 2016. Harper seems back to his prodigious self and the Orioles will aim to contain him provided he plays. The injury doesn’t seem that serious, but Harper needs to get back out on the field to alleviate any lingering concerns.
Key Stat
13. That’s the number of wins by two runs or fewer the Orioles have amassed compared to only three losses. That has helped them to a solid 20-10 record, although their run-differential of plus-11 means they probably don’t deserve such a glowing mark.
A market correction figures to be coming in this series for Baltimore, which isn’t as good as the record suggests. The Nationals have the pitching advantage among starters and a better offense as long as Harper is in the lineup.
Expect the Nationals to come in and win at least two of these games, and even a sweep on the road isn’t completely out of the question, although obviously that wouldn’t be easy.
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