A few notes on the Orioles and Nationals

Coming off Sunday's walk-off loss in the ninth to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Orioles were going to try and regroup as they were scheduled to begin a three-game interleague series at Nationals Park Monday night. But that game has been rained out and will be made up on Thursday at 4:05 p.m. Now these clubs are scheduled to begin this series Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m.

The Orioles (73-76) have won eight of their last 12 overall and are 31-47 on the road. The Nationals (78-71) have gone 7-1 their past eight games against the Marlins and Phillies, and are 44-30 at home.

Washington took two of three at Camden Yards in the last series before the All-Star break. It was the O's first series loss to the Nationals since June 17-19, 2011. They had won four and tied two in the previous six series before this July. The Orioles went 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position in that earlier series.

The Orioles lead the all-time series versus the Nationals at 30-23 and are 11-6 since the 2012 season.

Washington has been on offensive tear. Over their last 32 games, the Nationals have scored 193 runs to average 6.0 per game. Bryce Harper is batting .435 with 10 homers, 18 RBIs and a 1.543 OPS in 19 games this month. He went 3-for-12 with a homer in July against the Orioles. In 13 career games versus Baltimore pitchers, Harper is batting .208 (10-for-48) with a homer, three RBIs, a .354 slugging percentage and a .663 OPS.

Major league home runs leaders:
43 - Chris Davis, Orioles
42 - Nelson Cruz, Mariners
41 - Bryce Harper, Nationals

Monday's scheduled Orioles starter was right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (11-9, 4.31 ERA), who was to make his 30th start and face Nats left-hander Gio Gonzalez (11-7, 3.83 ERA).

Jimenez will become the 11th Dominican-born pitcher with 100 career victories with his next victory. Of his 99 career wins, 56 came as a member of the Colorado Rockies, 26 with Cleveland and 17 with the Orioles.

Jimenez has pitched well in his career versus Washington, going 5-1 with a 2.61 ERA. He is 3-0 with a 1.16 ERA in three career starts at Nats Park, allowing three runs in 23 1/3 innings. While Jimenez had an ERA of 2.81 in the first half, that is 6.58 in the second, and one difference has been the gopher ball. His homer rate was 0.7 per every nine innings before the All-Star break and is 1.51 after the break.

Gonzalez is on a three-start roll, going 2-0 with an ERA of 1.47. Over 18 1/3 innings, he has allowed 11 hits and three runs, with nine walks to 26 strikeouts. He has two games of 10 or more strikeouts this year and both came during this recent stretch. He is 1-4 with a 3.51 ERA in five career starts versus the Orioles. On July 10, he gave up just one run over six innings in a no-decision at Camden Yards.

Jonathan Schoop went hitless Sunday to snap his 12-game hitting streak. He hit .327 during the streak. Over his past 18 games, Chris Davis is batting .377 with eight homers and 17 RBIs. Adam Jones has 13 RBIs over his last nine games.