Yard Work: Episode 5

Hey, O's fans! Welcome to the crossover edition of the Yard Work podcast. This week, I'm joined by District 34 podcast hosts Bobby Blanco and Byron Kerr as the Battle of the Beltways gets underway for the 2017 season.

It's become a rivalry featuring two of the game's top teams, and this year is no exception. Both the Nationals and Orioles boast two of the best records in baseball. The Orioles got a terrific outing from starter Kevin Gausman in Monday's series opener, helping the Birds to a 6-4 win. It was closer than most O's fans would've liked, however, as the Nationals conjured up a late rally, but fell short with a base-running miscue. How big of a slip-up was that for the Nats? We'll discuss.

Also, many experts pegged the Nationals as one of the top teams this season, but not the Orioles. So how have the Birds been able to stick around atop the American League East? Pitching, pitching, pitching. We'll talk about some of the success stories for the Orioles.

And with the two-game series in Baltimore coming to a close Tuesday, the two teams head 45 minutes south to begin another two-game series in our nation's capital. Will home field truly bring an advantage for the Nationals? The three of us will debate the reasons why the Orioles seem to hold the edge in this rivalry which is getting better each year.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @brianeller1 and my usual co-host, Steve Melewski, at @masnsteve. And if you're interested in the latest in Nationals dealings or just a fan of baseball in general, follow Blanco at @bobby_blanco and Kerr at @masnKerr. And subscribe to both podcasts on iTunes and SoundCloud.

Note: The Yard Work podcast will be recorded each week; therefore, all Orioles records and statistics will be current at time of recording, but may be different when podcast is downloaded. Please don't hold that against us