O's game blog: Dylan Bundy on the mound in series opener with Nats

The Orioles and Nationals resume their regional rivalry tonight as the clubs meet in the first game of four consecutive meetings. The first two are at Camden Yards and the last two are at Nationals Park.

Tonight's pitching matchup features right-handers. For the Orioles, Dylan Bundy (6-4, 3.36 ERA) makes his eighth start and for the Nationals, A.J. Cole makes his first of the season in the majors.

After pitching to an ERA of 1.84 his previous five starts, Bundy got hit hard on Wednesday night at home against Boston. He allowed nine hits and five runs over 4 1/3 innings. After allowing a batting average against of just .125 (10-for-80) over his previous four starts, Bundy allowed nine hits in 22 at-bats against the Red Sox.

In his seven starts, Bundy is 4-3 with a 3.65 ERA and two quality starts. Over 37 innings he has permitted 29 hits including eight homers with 10 walks, 38 strikeouts and a .212 batting average against. The Orioles are 4-3 in his starts.

Cole was called up today to start as Stephen Strasburg, who had been scheduled to pitch, went on the disabled list with right elbow soreness, retroactive to August 21. Cole was the Nats' fourth-round draft pick in 2010 and began the year rated as the organization's No. 7 prospect by Baseball America and MLB.com.

The 24-year-old Cole has pitched in Triple-A Syracuse's rotation all year, going 8-8 with an ERA of 4.26 in 22 starts. Over 124 2/3 innings he has allowed 131 hits with 35 walks, 109 strikeouts and a .266 average against.

In five starts since the All-Star break at Triple-A, Cole went 2-3 with a 2.80 ERA. Over 35 1/3 innings he walked six and fanned 33. Lefty batters have hit .306 against him this season and right-handed batters hit .236.

He made his major league debut in 2015, going 0-0 with a 5.79 ERA in 9 1/3 innings with the Nationals. He spent most of last year also with Syracuse, going 5-6 with a 3.15 ERA.

The Orioles (67-56) begin play tonight in third in the American League East, 2 ½ games back of Toronto, which is off tonight. The Nationals (73-50) are leading the National League East by 8 ½ games over Miami. The Nats have the second-best record in the majors to the Cubs (78-45). Washington is also second in MLB in run differential (+145) to the Cubs (+208).

These teams have played every year since 2006 after baseball returned to D.C. in 2005. The O's lead the all-time series 33-23 winning the season series six times, losing one with three ties. The Orioles went 4-2 versus the Nats last season with a 1-2 mark in Baltimore and 3-0 in Washington. The O's have won the season series four straight years, going 14-6 against the Nationals since 2012.

Walker honored: The International League today announced that Triple-A Norfolk Tides outfielder Christian Walker has been named the league's Batter of the Week. Over the last week, Walker hit .333 (10-for-30) with four doubles, three homers and seven RBIs. Walker hit safely in seven straight games to close the week, including a two-homer effort in a win at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 17.

Walker, 25, has hit .264 with 26 doubles, 15 home runs and 56 RBIs on the year. His 15 home runs lead the Tides, and his 39 career homers with Norfolk are the most by any Tides player as an Orioles affiliate and are tied for 8^th in franchise history. Walker made the transition from first base to outfield this season, and he's registered a .976 fielding percentage (three errors in 127 total chances) while accumulating three outfield assists.