Yard Work podcast: Episode 12

Hey, O's fans. Welcome to the latest edition of Yard Work. We're changing things up a bit this week. With the Orioles and Nationals resuming their annual Battle of the Beltways, we thought we'd combine our two squads - myself from Yard Work and MASNsports.com's Bobby Blanco and Byron Kerr from District 34 - for a joint podcast session.

The Orioles and Nationals have squared off each season, though the rivalry has been a little one-sided. The O's have taken the season series each year since 2011 and grabbed a key 4-3 win in Monday's series opener. That's not to say this series hasn't been close, though. Both teams are battling for playoff positions and it seems like every game is extremely competitive. This isn't a rivalry with very many blowouts.

For the Birds, it's not a huge stretch to say they've been fighting for their playoffs lives since nearly the first week of the season. The Red Sox and Blue Jays have stuck around the top of the American League East all year and it's clear this division will come down to the last few weeks of the season. The Orioles have to hope for consistent starting pitching and that their offense - which set league records in the month of June - doesn't go cold as summer fades away.

The Nationals meanwhile, have a comfortable lead in the National League East, but taking their foot off the pedal now would be a huge mistake. At 73-51, the Nationals are six games behind the Cubs for the best record in the majors, with plenty of time to make a charge for the senior circuit's top spot. At the very least, the Nationals hope to earn the No. 2 seed, giving them home field advantage for the Division Series.

In the big picture, a lot is made of just how much of a rivalry these two ballclubs have. They're close geographically, but equally as far away in terms of competing in different leagues. A postseason matchup would certainly increase the rivalry, particularly considering it would be in the fall classic, but what else would help fuel the matchup between these two teams?

We're crossing things over this week with a little Orioles-Nationals talk on the latest episode of Yard Work. Enjoy!

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!