Washington Nationals @ Baltimore Orioles - May 18, 2025

As a retired coach with years of experience, I’ve seen my fair share of interleague matchups, and this Sunday’s contest between the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards is shaping up to be quite interesting. Both teams are looking for that elusive win, but their recent performances suggest they’re in different places on the competitive spectrum.

Let’s start with the pitching matchup. The Nationals will send out Mike Soroka, who has struggled thus far this season, sporting an 0-2 record and a 5.4 ERA. These numbers tell us he has had difficulty keeping opposing hitters off balance; when you consider his strikeouts per game average at about 8, it’s clear he can get swings and misses—but if you don’t have command or consistency, that strikeout potential may not mean much. As a former coach, I remember times when pitchers would get into trouble because they lacked confidence in their secondary pitches—this often leads to over-reliance on fastballs and ultimately predictable at-bats for hitters.

On the flip side, Zach Eflin for Baltimore has been more effective with a solid record of 3-1 and an ERA of approximately 5.4 as well—showing that neither pitcher is particularly dominant at this point in the season. Eflin’s average of about 7 strikeouts per game indicates he also possesses some ability to handle pressure situations effectively but similar to Soroka, needs better command to maximize his talents.

Turning our attention to offense—Washington boasts slightly better batting stats than Baltimore overall this year: averaging around 4 runs per game compared to Baltimore’s roughly 3.7 runs. The Nationals also have a slight edge in hitting accuracy (batting average) as well as RBIs per game which might suggest they have been more productive when it comes to capitalizing on scoring opportunities.

However, both teams find themselves struggling lately; Washington has gone just 3-8 SU in its last eleven games while Baltimore is suffering through a five-game losing streak—a tough situation indeed for fans hoping for consistency from either team.

What do these trends indicate? Well, considering how poorly both teams are performing recently combined with individual pitching inconsistencies means we could see another high-scoring affair—especially given that the total opened at nine runs. In fact, during their last matchup where Washington emerged victorious by a score of 10-6—a clear indication that defenses have not been able to hold up against offensive pushes from either side lately.

Thus based on current trends and performance metrics leading up to Sunday’s clash: I predict that we will see the Orioles secure a victory against the Nationals—and I suspect we’ll likely exceed that nine-run mark set by oddsmakers as both lineups look poised to capitalize on each other’s weaknesses today.

While one can never guarantee outcomes in baseball—the unpredictable nature is part of what makes coaching so rewarding—it seems like there are enough indicators pointing towards an entertaining battle full of runs rather than defensive stand-offs today!