O's game blog: O's have won eight of 10 against Nats (O's lose 6-1)

Once again, it's the Orioles and Nationals. This time for one night only at Nationals Park, as the clubs make up the rainout in Washington from May 11.

The clubs were scheduled for a four-game, home-and-home series. The Orioles won the first two games in Baltimore, 6-4 and 5-4. The Nats rallied late to win the first in Washington 7-6.

The Orioles lost that game and went on to go 3-13 over a 16-game stretch through May 28. But starting May 29, they began a nine-game homestand that ended with them going 6-3, capped by the back-to-back extra-inning comeback wins versus the Pirates.

The Orioles begin play tonight at 31-26, in third in the American League East, 2 1/2 games back of New York. The Nationals are 37-21 (.638) which is the second-best record in the majors to Houston at 42-18 (.700). Washington is running away with the National League East, leading the Braves and Mets by 11 1/2 games.

The Nationals are 16-9 at home. Their plus-72 run differential ranks fourth in the majors. The Nats just completed a 7-2 West Coast road trip and have won 12 of 16 games.

Washington features one of the best offenses in the majors. The Nationals rank second in the major leagues in runs (321), average (.273) and OPS (.813), are third in OBP (.342) and tied for first in slugging (.471).

The Orioles have won the season series seven times, losing just one with two ties since these clubs first began to play in 2006. The O's are 38-25 (.603) versus the Nats; since 2012, they are 19-8 (.704). They have won eight of the last 10 games between the teams and are 6-2 at Nats Park since 2014.

Right-hander Alec Asher (2-3, 3.62 ERA) gets the start for Baltimore. He has recorded three quality starts in his previous four, pitching to an ERA of 2.89 in those three games. Tonight he will make his 17th career major league start.

Over 37 1/3 innings in 13 games, Asher has walked just eight with 28 strikeouts and a .241 batting average against. Opponents bat .225 against him the first time through the order, .238 the second time and .333 the third time.

Right-hander Joe Ross (2-2, 7.34 ERA) will start for the Nationals. Ross has been bashed for a 14.14 ERA over his past two starts against San Diego and Oakland. Over seven innings, he has given up 19 hits in 40 at-bats and 12 runs (11 earned). He has an ERA of 12.00 in the first inning of his six starts, allowing three home runs. Lefty batters hit .338 against him and right-handed batters hit .328.

Tonight starts a three-city, eight-game road trip for the Orioles. It takes them to Yankee Stadium this weekend and to Chicago starting Monday for four games with the White Sox.

O's lose in Washington: For the second night in a row an Orioles starter didn't get very deep into the game. It was 2 2/3 innings last night by Wade Miley and tonight Asher allowed seven hits and five runs over four innings as Washington beat the Orioles 6-1. Winning pitcher Joe Ross allowed one run over 7 1/3 innings and fanned a career-high 12. O's batters fanned 15 times without drawing one walk.

The Orioles fall to 31-27 and wind up splitting the season series with the Nationals at 2-2. The Orioles are 10-17 on the road and have lost 10 of their past 11 games away from Oriole Park.

Now the Birds head to New York for a weekend series in the Bronx with the first-place Yankees. On Friday night, Dylan Bundy (6-4, 2.93 ERA) pitches against left-hander Jordan Montgomery (3-4, 3.67 ERA).