The stretch run is underway, and the Baltimore Orioles (70-49) are jockeying for position, fighting for a division title in the AL East with 43 games remaining on their schedule.
The Washington Nationals (54-65) are not mathematically eliminated, as they sit 8.5 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot but are playing in more spoiler mode than postseason push mode.
These two I-95 rivals will come head-to-head on Tuesday and Wednesday night for a brief two-game series from Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
The Orioles hold a 62-49 record lifetime against the Nationals and have split the two games they played earlier this season. In that series, the Nats shut out the Birds and then it took 12 innings for the O’s to win the second game.
The Orioles will send Trevor Rodgers (2-10, 4.71 ERA) to the mound to open the Beltway Series. Rodgers, who was acquired from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline, is still trying to find his niche with Baltimore. The promising lefty had a poor debut with the Birds but a stronger start in his second outing.
Following Rodgers will be Dean Kremer (4-9, 4.70 ERA), who is looking to get back on track and return to the serviceable starter the Orioles had for the last two seasons.
The Nationals will send Jake Irvin (8-10, 3.76 ERA) and D.J. Herz (2-4, 4.41 ERA) to the mound for the series.
BATTERY ❌-FACTOR
This series could have a couple different areas to fall in for our BATTERY ❌-FACTOR, but the one that jumps to the forefront is the starting pitching.
Rodgers and Kremer have both struggled this season and both are capable of better and will need to be to help the Birds down the stretch.
Rodgers has shown improvement, going 1-1 over his last five starts. He has compiled a 3.38 ERA in his last 24 innings but has also allowed 31 base runners (10 walks and 24 hits) to the tune of a 1.42 WHIP. Kremer has struggled over his last six starts to a tune of a 6.14 ERA and .792 OPS over 29.1 innings while walking 16 batters.
This series has the ability to help catapult Rodgers and Kremer in the right direction going forward and get them jump-started to be contributing factors in the march to the postseason.
GAME 1 STARTING LINEUP
The MASN Cup starts Tuesday night at 6:35 p.m. EST, with game two following the same anticipated start time. Both games will be available on MASN, and you can tune into your favorite local Orioles Radio Network station to catch the games as well.
Will the Nats make the Orioles’ homecoming bittersweet, or will the Birds swat the Nats back to D.C. and continue their march towards the postseason? It all starts tonight, so be sure to tune in.
How do you see this series playing out? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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