Garrett Olson improved to 3-0 and George Sherrill picked up his 16th save as the O's beat the Nationals, 5-3, in front of 29,266 at Camden Yards.

The Birds have won three in a row and six of seven in improving to 22-19.

Luke Scott's solo homer in the 4th tied the game at three and the O's went ahead 5-3 in the 5th on a Melvin Mora rbi double and Kevin Millar rbi single.

The O's ended a four-game losing streak vs. the Nats.

Game two of this series is Saturday night at 7:05pm.

Highlighting MASN's unique position as the home of two MLB teams, booth will feature combined talent for May and June inter-league "Battles of the Beltway" between the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles

2008 Beltway Series begins tonight as the Nats visit the O's at 7:00pm on MASN, MASN2, & MASN HD

MASN, the television home of both the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles, will produce an unprecedented mixed talent broadcast during upcoming inter-league play between the Nationals and the Orioles. The first Battle of the Beltway of the 2008 season begins on Friday, May 16 live from Oriole Park at 7:05 pm. The second inter-league series takes place June 27, 28, 29 at Nationals Park. All six of the games will also be available on MASN's new high-definition channel, MASN HD.

Shawn Hill didn't have his best stuff tonight and the Nationals 2 game win streak is over. He gave up 5 runs, 4 earned on 8 hits in 5 innings and took the loss.

The loss also snaps a 4-game win streak over the Orioles and 3 straight at Camden yards.

The Nationals didn't help their own cause tonight. They left 9 men on base and only scored 1-run with the bases loaded and no-outs in the 4th.

Odalis Perez takes on Brian Burres in Game 2 Saturday night at 7:00p

Bergmann pitched 7 solid innings of 3-hit ball, striking out 9 en route to the 1-0 win.

Felipe Lopez hit the game winning sac fly in the 8th to score Jesus Flores, who doubled to lead-off the inning. Flores went 1-2, 2 BB.

The defense, which made 2 errors, saved the day for the Nationals. Willie Harris' diving catch with a runner on first in the bottom of the 9th prevented the runner from advancing. After Carlos Beltran stole second and advanced to third on Flores' throwing error, Carlos Delgado lined into a 3-5 game ending double play.

The Nationals begin interleague play tomorrow with a 3-game series in Baltimore.

The O's scored two in the 6th to pull within 3-2. Payton had a 5-RBI day.

The Birds improve to 21-19 with their 5th win in the last six games. They are 4-1 this season in games vs. the Red Sox and Yankees.

Daniel Cabrera got the win and George Sherrill his 15th save. Cabrera has pitched to an ERA of 2.50 over his last seven starts.

The Birds are off Thursday and host Washington to begin a three-game series, Friday at 7:05 pm.

The offense snapped a 1-1 tie with 4 runs in the 7th to break the game open. All 4 runs came with 2-outs.

The bullpen gave up 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk in 3 innings of work, but Jon Rauch got a 4-out save. His 8th of the year.

With a win tomorrow afternoon in the series finale, the Nationals will take 3 of 4 from the Mets. Jason Bergmann, just recalled from Triple-A Columbus, will face Mike Pelfrey.

The O's bullpen got some huge late outs as Jiim Johnson got out of a bases-loaded jam in the 7th and George Sherrill got five outs to record his 14th save.

The O's beat Josh Beckett who allowed a season-high 11 hits and five runs in 5.2 ip. Jeremy Guthrie got the win.

Daniel Cabrera faces Jon Lester Wednesday at 3:05 to wrap up the two-game set.

The Nats offense managed only 4 hits and just two off starter John Maine. Maine have given up 2 runs or less in 7 straight starts.

Game three of the series is Wednesday night at 7:00pm (MASN2 & MASNHD).

Odalis Perez wasn't perfect. He wasn't even sharp, but he did enough to get his first win of the season. Perez also helped himself by going 3-3 with 2 RBI at the plate.

Perez pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up 4 runs on 11 hits and 2 walks. Two of the runs came off solo home runs, by Damon Easley and David Wright. Perez pitched out of jams in the first 3 innings and allowed only 1-run in each frame. He stranded 5 runners in those innings to give himself a chance.

The Nationals offense, 0-8 with runners in scoring position in the first 4 innings, broke a 3-3 tie with 3 runs in the 5th and 4 more in the 6th and went 5-10 with RISP from the 5th inning on. They only had 10 hits, but were aided by 7 walks and 2 errors.

Brian Bannister, who entered with an ERA of 8.02 over his last four starts, pitched eight shutout innings as the Royals beat the O's, 4-0. Both hits he allowed were singles.

With the win, the Royals end their 12-game losing streak vs. the Orioles.

Mark Teahen's RBI single gave KC a 1-0 lead in the 2nd and they made it 2-0 on an RBI double by Jose Guillen in the third. KC added two in the 7th.

O's starter Brian Burres gave up four runs and nine hits in six innings in falling to 3-4.

The O's begin a two-game series vs. division-leading Boston Tuesday night at Camden Yards.

Paul Lo Duca shares his thoughts on his mom who he lost to cancer a few years ago.

Luis Ayala entered the game in the 8th with a 4-2 lead and was trying to hold the game for Shawn Hill. By the time the inning was over, the Nationals lead was gone and so was Hill's chance for his first win of the season.

Ayala gave up a 2-run shot to Jeremy Hermida that tied the game 4-4 and Dan Uggla's second home run of the game put the Marlins on top 5-4.

The Nationals have now lost 3 straight overall, get swept by the Marlins and have to begin a 4-game series with the Mets tomorrow in NY.

Kevin Millar had three hits, including a three-run homer for the Birds as they beat KC, 6-5. He hit his blast in the first inning and it was soon followed by a rain delay of an hour and 52 minutes. The O's have now won 12 in a row vs. KC and improve to 19-18.

Melvin Mora had two hits and an RBI and Adam Jones ripped an RBI-triple in the 6th.

Lefty Garrett Olson gave up three runs and eight hits in 5.1 ip in picking up his 2nd Orioles win.

Brian Burres (3-3 3.19) pitches Sunday at 2:10p in the finale of this series and ten-game road trip.

Mike O'Connor, making his first start since 2006, was ineffective in his 3 1/3 innings. He gave up 9 runs on 6 hits and 6 walks. He threw 78 pitches and 40 were balls, not a good ball to strike ratio.

The Marlins hit 3 home runs including a Grand Slam by Dan Uggla, who drove in 5 and extended their winning streak to a season-high 6 games.

Redding gave up 6 runs, 5 earned on 4 hits and 4 walks in 5 1/3 while the Marlins' Ricky Nolasco allowed only 1-run on 4 hits to earn the win.

Daniel Cabrera is becoming a dominant force to be reckoned with. His intimidating presence on the mound coupled with his newfound control is a nasty combination.

He pitched a complete game last night and with every start it seems his reputation around the league grow. He's the one player I get more questions about from the opposing team's media. This could be a big year for the big righty.

Both Nick Markakis and Freddie Bynum had two hits and two runs scored.

The Orioles pick up their 11th win in a row vs. Kansas City, dating to July 25, 2006.

O's starter Steve Trachsel, who had pitched to an ERA of 11.05 his previous four starts, gave up just two runs in 5.1 ip in picking up his second win of the season.

Wily Mo Pena told me he and Miguel Tejada have talked hitting for years. The two often chatted when playing in the American League (Red Sox and Orioles respectively). They even played together on a team back in their homeland of the Dominican Republic.

About six months ago, while broadcasting the Willis McGahee show from Michael's Pub in Columbia, a fortuneteller of sorts shot me a text during a break.

We had been discussing the ins and outs of the upcoming 2008 NFL draft and who we thought Ozzie would choose in the first round. The text message read..."Anita, just remember the name Joe Flacco."

Nick Markakis hit the Orioles first three-run homer of the year in the third inning. It was his 7th homer of the season and third on this current road trip.

The O's went 7-0 vs. the Royals last year and have won ten in a row vs. KC dating to 2006.

John Lannan pitched a solid 6 innings to earn his third win of the season and end the Nationals 2-game losing streak.

Willie Harris and Rob Mackowiak, getting starts in left and center field respectively, each hit their first career home runs in Nationals uniforms and they beat the Astros 8-3.

Joel Hanrahan began the inning by walking lead-off hitter Matsui. With Miguel Tejada batting, Matsui stole second. Hanrahan struckout Tejada and intentionally walked Lance Berkman before being replaced by Jesus Colome. Colome, facing Lee, got ahead of him 0-2, before throwing a wild pitch that allowed Matsui to advance to third. Lee then hit a liner to center that Lastings Milledge couldn't catch and Matsui scored the game winner.

The Nationals walked a season high, 8 batters, two intentionally.

The O's score three in the 8th for a 5-4 lead on a Brian Roberts two-run single and Melvin Mora RBI double.

Kurt Suzuki's two-run homer in the 5th gave Oakland a 3-0 lead. The O's come up with two in the 6th on RBI's by Kevin Millar and Ramon Hernandez.

Starter Jeremy Guthrie allows four runs and five hits in 5.2 ip, ending his streak of six starts in a row allowing 3er or less.

The loss, the O's 5th in a row, drops Baltimore to 16-18 as they get set to start a four-game series in Kansas City on Thursday night.

Good news; the Orioles could have lefty starter Adam Loewen back on the mound as early as next month. The southpaw met with world-renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews Sunday to determine the source of pain in his elbow and forearm.

So far, the Baltimore Ravens have had two optional OTA's (Organized Team Activities), but this weekend's mandatory minicamps will mark the first time that new head coach John Harbaugh will monitor all Ravens players, from All-pro linebacker Ray Lewis to 1st round pick Joe Flacco.

After getting the first two batters to ground out, Ayala gave up singles to Miguel Tejada and Lance Berkman. Ayala got ahead of Lee 0-2, but Lee hit a sinking liner to right and Austin Kearns gambled, dove for the ball and missed it, allowing both runners to score.

Jose Valverde retired the side in order in the 9th for his 7th save of the year.

The O's have lost four in a row and fall under .500 at 16-17.

Losing pitcher Brian Burres gave up four runs on eight hits over 5.1 ip. Aubrey Huff and Luke Scott had RBI's.

Jeremy Guthrie pitches Wednesday afternoon as the O's try to avoid the sweep in Oakland.

In the last of the tenth, Jim Johnson, the 5th O's pitcher, got the first two outs. But then Daric Barton singled and Johnson walked slumping Frank Thomas. That put the winning run in scoring position and seconds later Emil Brown singled to center to win it, 2-1.

After seeing the L.A. Angels up close this past weekend, I'll tell you---they're good. Their starting pitching is dominating, and their offense is powerful.

Heading to Angels Stadium on Sunday, I ran into a baseball executive who said he believes they're the best all-around ballclub this year in the American League, and he said that while their best hitter Vladimir Guerrero is in a slump.

The Nationals bullpen did a great job today, helping nail down the 5-2 win for Tim Redding. Saul Rivera, Luis Ayala and Jesus Colome retired 8 of the 9 Pirates they faced. Redding improved to 4-2.

The Nationals, who are off Monday before heading to Houston for a 3-game series beginning Tuesday night, finished up this 11-game home stand 8-3.

The Angels hit three homers today, including a three-run shot from Torii Hunter that capped a four-run first inning.

Steve Trachsel gave up six runs on seven hits in three innings. His ERA over his last four outings is 11.05.