Opposite dugout: Surprising Yankees confounding the experts by succeeding

Manager: Joe Girardi (8th season)

Record: 22-17

Last 10 games: 4-6

Who to watch: CF Jacoby Ellsbury (.327/.411/.374 with 28 R and 14 SB), LF Brett Gardner (.303 with 3 HR, 16 RBIs, 10), DH Alex Rodriguez (10 HR and 22 RBIs), 1B Mark Teixeira (11 HR and 28 RBIs), RHP Dellin Betances (4-0, 0.00 ERA, 32 Ks in 21 IP), LHP Andrew Miller (0.00 ERA, 13 saves, 29 Ks in 17 2/3)

Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (3-0 in 2012)

Pitching probables:

May 19: RHP Nate Eovaldi vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez, 7:05 p.m., MASN
May 20: RHP Adam Warren vs. TBA, 7:05 p.m. MASN

Inside the Yankees:

The Yankees and Nationals don't play that often - they've met only nine times since the Expos moved to D.C. from Montreal before the 2005 season. Even in spring training, games are bereft of star power because neither team wants to put its top players on a long bus ride between Tampa and Viera. Still, the Yankees are 5-4 all-time against the Nats, including a 3-0 mark, courtesy of a sweep in 2012, the last time the teams met.

Remember the naysayers who predicted that the Yankees would be a Dumpster fire in 2015, what with the return of everyone's favorite target, Alex Rodriguez, from his suspension after the Biogenesis mess? The Yanks had no starting pitching, an aging lineup, too many question marks, not enough depth. Well, all the guys in pinstripes have done is race to the top of the American League East. They're struggling on their current road trip, posting a 2-5 record and coming off a 6-0 loss in Kansas City, but are 13-10 in away games this season.

Rodriguez, now cemented in the designated hitter position, may play first or third base in D.C., since the DH won't be available in Nationals Park. He's rebounded from all of the controversy to slug 10 homers and drive in 22 runs. First baseman Mark Teixeira - remember the Nats' dalliance with him before he signed as a free agent with the Yankees? - has put last season's power-sapping wrist injuries in the past and hit 11 homers with 28 RBIs, both team highs. Oft-injured right fielder Carlos Beltran has hit in nine straight games, going 11-for-27, after a slow start

How long can they maintain that production? As long as the Yankees' top table setters - center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury and left fielder Brett Gardner - keep getting on base with consistency. Ellsbury is on a 33-for-90 (.366 tear) since April 22, and his .327/.411/.374 slash line includes 48 hits, 28 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. Gardner has been held hitless in only three of 16 games in May, and is batting .303 with 25 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. The speedsters will test Nats catchers Wilson Ramos and Jose Lobaton.

The Bronx Bombers will throw a pair of similar right-handers against the Nats in the two-game interleague matchup (the teams will meet again for two games at Yankee Stadium on June 9-10). It's tempting to think the Nats' powerful attack will feast on a couple of guys without lengthy track records of success, but Nate Eovaldi and Adam Warren have done well enough to keep the Yanks competitive in the AL East, proving you can't rely too heavily on the numbers.

Tuesday starter Eovaldi is 0-4 with a 4.13 ERA in 10 career interleague starts, but is making the most this year of a fastball/slider combination that accounts for 80 percent of his pitches. The fastball tops out at 101 mph and averages 96 mph, while the slider clocks in at an average of 83 mph. He's been a much better road pitcher this season, with a 2-1 record and 3.12 ERA away from the Bronx. But left-handed hitters are slashing .357/.416/.500 against him and he's allowing an overall batting average against of .305. Expect the Nats to be aggressive early, as Eovaldi yields a .406 average in the first inning. There are signs that the righty is getting into a rhythm, having gone at least six innings in three of his past five outings. The first pitch is critical for Eovaldi - when he gets ahead 0-1, foes hit only .188; a first-pitch ball translates into an overall .389/.436/.625 slash line. Because of his history in the National League, Eovaldi has some experience against the Nationals, but the results are mixed. Overall, he's 2-4 with a 4.76 ERA in seven career starts, but at Nats Park his 1-2 record in three starts includes a 2.79 ERA.

Warren gets the nod on Wednesday night, making his first career appearance against Washington. He's a four-pitch pitcher who relies heavily on a fastball/slider mix - his fastball averages only 92 mph and he throws it about 53 percent of the time, while he turns to an 86 mph slider 24 percent of the time. Warren, a converted reliever in his first extended tour in the rotation, also spots in a changeup and curveball. His last start was his best of the season: a seven-inning outing at Tampa Bay on May 13 during which he surrendered three runs on seven hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. That outing marked the first time he'd reached the sixth inning this season. He's also struggled on the road, with a 2-1 record and 6.04 ERA, but has yielded only one home run over his past five starts overall, a span of 28 2/3 innings. And he's got a 2-to-1 ratio of ground balls to fly balls in May. He's had two distinct trouble zones: the first inning, when opponents batter him at a .321 clip, and the period from his 31st to 45th pitches, when he yields a .364 average against. This will also be Warren's first interleague start, though he's posted a 1-1 record and a 3.60 ERA in 14 relief appearances against NL squads over his career.

While the Yankees rotation hasn't been particularly dominant, their bullpen has been virtually untouchable in the eighth and ninth innings. That means manager Joe Girardi needs to get five or six innings out of his starting pitchers, mixes and matches for three to six outs, then turns the game over to the tandem of right-handed setup man Dellin Betances and southpaw Andrew Miller, a first-year closer. When spring training began, it was unclear who would replace the departed David Robertson as closer, and manager Joe Girardi flirted briefly with the notion of sharing the role before settling on Betances on his eighth-inning guy and Miller as the closer. It proved to be the right decision. Betances is 4-0 with am 0.81 WHIP and has not allowed an earned run in 21 innings over 19 outings. Miller, who signed a four-year, $36 million deal in the offseason in hopes he could work ninth innings, has yet to allow a run in 17 2/3 innings, fanned 29 and gone 13-for-13 in save opportunities.