Opposite dugout: Orioles possess power, but poor pitching has dimmed playoff hopes

Manager: Buck Showalter (6th season)

Record:73-76

Last 10 games:6-4

Who to watch: 3B Manny Machado (.289 with 29 HR, 75 RBIs), CF Adam Jones (27 HR, 82 RBIs), 1B Chris Davis (43 HR, 109 RBIs), 2B Jonathan Schoop (.287, 14 HR), RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (11-9, 4.31 ERA), LHP Zach Britton (2.04 ERA, 34 saves)

Season series vs. Nationals: 1-2

Pitching probables:

Sept. 21: RHP Ubaldo Jimenez vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez, 7:05 p.m., MASN
Sept. 22: RHP Chris Tillman vs. RHP Tanner Roark, 7:05 p.m., MASN
Sept. 23: RHP Tyler Wilson vs. RHP Max Scherzer, 7:05 p.m., MASN

Inside the Orioles:

When the 2015 schedule was announced, savvy baseball fans in the mid-Atlantic circled the second of two three-game interleague series between the combatants at opposite ends of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, figuring that both the Orioles and Nationals would be fighting for a postseason berth. Well, it hasn't worked out that way. While the Nationals are chasing the first-place Mets in the National League East, the six-game deficit they have to make up seems insurmountable; the Orioles, meanwhile, are 12 games off the pace in the American League East, and their only path to the playoffs is to leap over three teams and get one of the two AL wild card spots. Neither seems very likely.

So what went wrong in Baltimore? The pitching that was so rock-solid during a run to the AL East title last year has been a major problem, with starters struggling to complete six innings with alarming regularity. The Orioles have gone 31-47 on the road, a poor record for a team that expected to contend for a division crown. They haven't had the same late-inning magic, and their inability to win one-run games and come back late made it tough for them to replicate what happened during postseason pushes in 2012 and 2014. The O's decisions to let slugger Nelson Cruz and reliable right fielder/leadoff man Nick Markakis depart via free agency left gaping holes and none of general manager Dan Duquette's postseason moves really panned out. With the season entering its final two weeks, the Orioles still hold a slim hope of sneaking into the playoffs, but a .500 record would be a more attainable goal.

What the Orioles do well is hit home runs - their 200 longballs are the fourth-most in the majors this season, leading them to the ninth-most runs scored (659). That helps make up for an offense that ranks in the bottom half of the majors in average (.252) and hits (1,273), and posts the fifth-worst on-base percentage (.307). First baseman Chris Davis has 43 home runs and 109 RBIs, both team highs, and is poised to cash in on a big free agent deal in the offseason. Third baseman Manny Machado, who has a career-best 29 homers and 75 RBIs, is the O's best all-around player, adding spectacular defense at the hot corner to his productive bat. It's been a down year average-wise for center fielder Adam Jones, but he has still produced 27 homers and 82 RBIs. The power numbers are impressive, but not the only offensive significance for the O's: second baseman Jonathan Schoop hit .327 during a 12-game hitting streak that was halted Sunday against the Rays.

Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, whose 11 wins and 29 starts lead the Orioles, starts Monday's series opener. He brings some impressive career numbers against the Nationals: He's 5-1 with a 2.61 ERA in seven career starts and 3-0 with a 1.16 ERA in three lifetime starts at Nationals Park. But he's had trouble getting length in his outings, going at least six innings only twice in 12 second-half starts. Lifetime in interleague games, Jimenez is 10-8 with a 3.87 ERA. He's won his last two decisions, but like a lot of pitchers, has trouble the more times he has to face a lineup. From his 76th to 90th pitches, opponents slash .366/.391/.574 against him. So if the Nats don't get him early, it's not like he builds up significant momentum.

Few pitchers have fallen as quickly as right-hander Chris Tillman, who will start Tuesday's game. A double-digit winner each of the past two seasons and considered the staff ace, he's been stuck on nine victories since Aug. 17, failing to get his 10th win in each of his past six starts. In his past four outings, he's failed to reach six innings (and he's not hit that mark 14 times in 28 starts this season). Tillman is 4-5 with a 5.40 ERA on the road and 3-4 with a 4.90 since the All-Star break. Overall, hitters are slashing .268/.333/433 off him, but the numbers on the road are downright ugly: .290/.353/.493. The Orioles have been waiting all season for him to start pitching like he's capable of, but aside from a 5-0 June, it hasn't happened. Maybe an interleague foe will be the tonic - he's 3-1 with a 4.91 ERA in his career against NL teams, but those four decisions have come in 15 starts. Against the Nationals, he's posted no decisions in four lifetime starts, including six innings on July 10 at Camden Yards, when he yielded two runs on eight hits.

Rookie righty Tyler Wilson should start Wednesday's finale. Orioles skipper Buck Showalter is one who likes to give young players who struggle a chance to quickly regain their confidence, and Wilson slogged through his worst start in the majors on Thursday, allowing the Rays to score six runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. In fairness, Wilson was pitching on six days' rest, which can sometimes negatively affect a guy whose fotre is control. In his previous three starts, Wilson looked like anything but a deer-in-the-headlights rookie, and he went six innings or more in two of the three outings. But the starts have been spaced out - one each in May, June, August and September - as Wilson has ridden the shuttle between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk. Overall, opponents are hitting .288 against him, but Wilson limits right-handed hitters to a .267 mark. In road games, he's yielded a .306/.354/.458 slash line. But he's been stingy with the home run ball, allowing only one in 29 innings (but none since May 28). His danger zone is his 16th through 30th pitches, when foes batter him at a .391/.423/.696 clip. He's primarily a fastball/slider pitcher, but also features a change and curve.