Series Preview: Nationals @ Orioles

It's that time again, the Battle of the Beltways resumes with a three game series in Baltimore.  Last time B-more and the Nats met both teams were in first place.  Now Baltimore has fallen back behind the Yankees and the Nats have been dealing with offensive struggles and their fair share of losses.  Here is how the series stacks up:

• Friday: 7:05 PM, Zimmermann (3-5) vs Hammel (7-2).
• Saturday: 7:15 PM, Jackson (3-4) vs Chen (7-2).
• Sunday: 1:35 PM, Detwiler (4-3) vs Arrieta (3-9).

Just like the first time around, this series is going to come down to how well the Nat's pitchers can slow down the big bats of the O's.  It'll be a little harder this time around because the Nats have the DH to worry about.  If Adam Jones has a big series it probably will end up being an Orioles win.

Game of the Series:  Friday.  Zimmermann will look to set a tone against arguably the best pitcher for the O's.  Starting off the series by keeping the O's bats silent will be vital if the Nats want to win in Baltimore this weekend.

Sound of the Series:  Comes from the Rough Silk.  When I heard Detwiler was back in the rotation I knew I needed to make the song Take a Chance on Me.  To keep my man-cred I went with this metal-cover of the ABBA song.

Prediction Time:
Putting my reputation as a "baseball guy" on the line by predicting the outcomes of each series.  Feel free to yell at me in the comments or on twitter @dru90. 

• Nats WIN on Friday.
• Nats LOSE on Saturday.
• Nats WIN on Sunday.

Nationals WIN the series 2-1.