With today's 2-1 victory over Washington, the Orioles took two-of-three in the first frame of the mid-Atlantic Rivalry. This series can be summed up similar to how we describe the month of March; it came in like a lion and out like a lamb. Washington took Friday night's game, and then some in their 17-5 victory. Even though the O's managed to put up five runs, they couldn't have been anymore listless. Oriole fans had to come away wondering how it was possible that the Birds could have a chance to take a game in this series much less win another one this year. The Nationals set a new franchise record by scoring 17 runs in the ballgame. They also hit six homers, including one that went in and out of Adam Jones' glove before landing in the Orioles' bullpen. Luckily, the game only counted for one loss, however the frightening thing was that the O's had been blown out to the tune of 13-2 the night before against the Yankees.
Going into game two there was a part of me that accepted it wouldn't be the Orioles' day. After being blown out two straight games, and having Guthrie on the mound (who gets no run support), things looked bleak almost from the outset. That was exactly why I liked the Orioles' chances in the game. Washington put two across in the third on a Brandon Snyder error, only to have Nolan Reimold hit his first homer of the season in the last of the inning when the O's put four across. They didn't look back from there, getting seven solid innings from Guthrie and two from the bullpen (Johnson and Uehara). This was Guthrie's first win since opening day, although you'd be hard pressed to find a tougher starter.
As for today's game, I entered the ballpark myself amid a sea of orange in the bullpen picnic area. Fans at the yard were treated to a classic pitchers' duel this afternoon, which resembled a NL game moreso than anything else. Chris Tillman pitched five solid innings and gave up one run. This is the second straight start where Tillman's had to leave after five innings due to a high pitch count, so that might be something to watch moving forward. Unfortunately for Tillman, Washington starter Jordan Zimmerman was just a little better. He stymied the O's throughout most of the six plus innings that he pitched. A key point in the game came two pitches in when Roger Bernadina appeared to bunt for a base hit. Zimmerman was called out by home plate umpire Tim Tichenor because he stepped on the plate on the way out of the batters box. Manager Jim Riggleman vehemently argued the call, and ended up getting ejected - two pitches in! (From my vantage point it appeared that Riggleman left the dugout with the purpose of getting tossed.) Fast forward to the seventh inning with one gone, Luke Scott at first, and Vladimir Guerrero at the plate (the Nats led 1-0 at the time). I suspect that Riggleman would have lifted Jordan Zimmerman at that point so as not to allow him to potentially lose a game where he pitched amazingly. Instead, Zimmerman gave up a two-run shot to Vlad; O's win 2-1. I support players and coaches that argue bad calls, but not only was that a good call (and Riggleman admitted as much after the game), but it was probably not a good idea for Riggleman to lose his own services for the rest of the game after only two pitches.
After all of this, I found it a bit interesting about an hour after the game ended when I was driving in Northern Virginia listening to the Nationals' call-in show and they stopped short of saying that the last two games didn't count. You would have thought that it was a one-game series that began and ended on Friday night! There are varying opinions about interleague play and whether or not it should continue to exist. When they first started doing it I was against it as a baseball purist. However now I think that it's a good thing and that it should continue. (Having said that they should ensure that the schedule is more even; some teams even play more interleague games than others.) I think that series' such as the O's and Nats are good for baseball, as of course are the Mets/Yankees, Cubs/White Sox, etc. Regardless of whether or not either team goes to the playoffs or not, regional bragging rights are worth something. At the very least until June's DC series rolls around, the Orioles hold those regional bragging rights.
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