The teams take the field and the game gets underway at 3:35 pm EST, two hours after the scheduled starting time for today's finale of the three game Interleague set between the visiting Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles, who look to sweep the weekend series, as the Nationals look to win one before heading thirty minutes south to face Philadelphia tomorrow night in DC. Washington leadoff hitter Felipe Lopez lines back at the mound and up the middle into center for a single to start the game. Cristian Guzman slices a 1-0 pitch into left. Ryan Zimmerman grounds to Melvin Mora at third, to Brian Roberts at second, to Kevin Mill-ah at first, double play. DY battles Orioles' righty Jeremy Guthrie to a full count and works a walk. Aaron Boone pops the first pitch out to center...Nationals' lefty John Lannan retires the Orioles in order in the first. 

Lastings Milledge lines the first pitch out to short. Elijah Dukes flies out to center. Rob Mackowiak flies out to Jay Payton in left. 1-2-3 second for Guthrie. John Lannan paints the outside corner with a curve on a 2-2 pitch to Kevin Mill-ah. Lannan covers first on a ground ball out from Aubrey Huff. Jay Payton pops up high over second, Felipe Lopez has it. 0-0 after two. 

Wil Nieves flies out to a charging Nick Markakis in left to start the third. Felipe Lopez grounds Guthrie's 1-1 pitch out to first. It's the GUUZZZZZZZ, Cristian Guzman floats one to left center...annnd...GONE! Solo shot from Guzman just makes it over the wall. 1-0 Nationals. Markakis pulls a potential double off the wall in right to rob Zimmerman of extra bases and end the DC third. Adam Jones flies out to his counterpart in center Lastings Milledge. O's catcher Guillermo Quiroz gets the first base hit off Lannan with a one-out single up the middle. Alex Cintron flies out to center. Brian Roberts grounds to Lopez, toss to Guzman covering, three scoreless for Lannan. 1-0 DC. 

DY works Guthrie to a full count to lead off the fourth, and eventually flies out to Adam Jones in center. Aaron Boone chops one straight down that Guthrie fields himself. Milledge pops out to short to end the top of the frame. Lannan gets Mora to chase strike three into the dirt, and Wil Nieves throws Mora out at first after losing the pitch. Markakis grounds out to first. Lannan issues a two-out walk to Mill-ah. Aubrey Huff ends the fourth with a grounder to second. 1-0 DC. 

0-1 fastball from Jeremy Guthrie to Dukes is grounded out to short. Guthrie gets Rob Mackowiak to foul out to the catcher. Wil Nieves punches one through second for a two-out single to right. Guthrie gets a fly ball to right from Felipe Lopez, Markakis catches it. 1-0 middle of five. Jay Payton flies out to right. Adam Jones chases Lannan's sick curve out of the zone, Nieves has to recover the ball and throw to first again. Quiroz grounds out to second. Five scoreless for Lannan. 1-0 Nationals. 

Jeremy Guthrie gets Guzman and Zimmerman to fly out for the first two outs of the sixth. DY grounds out to first, and Guthrie covers...John Lannan's back out on the mound. Lannan gets the first out with one pitch which Alex Cintron flies out to Dukes in short right. Brian Roberts grounds out to short. Melvin Mora cracks a 2-1 curve into the corner in left for a two-out double off Lannan. Markakis tops off a 2-2 curve, grounding to first to end the sixth. 1-0 Washington. 

Aaron Boone works a leadoff walk from Guthrie to start the seventh. Lastings Milledge fouls the first pitch unproductively to right. Elijah Dukes hustles to beat out the back end of his own DP grounder. Jeremy Guthrie walks Rob Mackowiak to give Wil Nieves a shot...Nieves slices one just over Roberts' glove at second, Dukes rounds third, Markakis comes up throwing...IN TIME!! Quiroz tags Dukes before his back leg reaches the plate. 1-0 after six and a half. Stand up and stretch...Kevin Mill-ah flies out to Dukes in right center. Lannan gets Aubrey Huff to ground out to second. Jay Payton grounds hard to first, but Boone handles it. 7.0 scoreless for Lannan. 

Side-winding Chad Bradford takes over for Guthrie to pitch the eighth. Felipe Lopez beats Mill-lah to the line for a leadoff double into the right field corner. Guzman's sac bunt advances Lopez to third. Can ZImmerman do his job? THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! RBI double to right on a high outside fastball from Bradford. 2-0 Nationals. DY gets the intentionals. Boone walks to load the bases for Lastings MIlledge. Milledge lays off the first pitch from Bradford but grounds the second into an inning-ending DP. Adam Jones starts the O's eighth with a single over second. Pinch hitter Ramon Hernandez strikes out swinging at a high heater from Lannan. Luke Scott doubles into the corner in right. A.Jones to third. Nationals' Manager Manny Acta takes the ball from Lannan, who goes...(7.1 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER-yet, 1 walk, 5 K's)...Luis "Set-up" Ayala is on his way ou...

RAIN DELAY...Ayala takes the mound at 6:05 pm against Brian Roberts. Roberts flies out to deep center, Adam Jones tags and scores. 2-1 Nationals. Luke Scott takes third. Two down. Melvin Mora flies out on a line drive to Dukes in right. 2-1 DC after eight. Jamie Walker, veteran lefty reliever, to face Dukes to start the ninth. Dukes walks. Willie Harris goes down swinging at a curve. Wil Nieves hits a one-hopper to Markakis, leaving Dukes with no option as he's tossed out at second. Jamie Walker drops a two-strike curve on Felipe Lopez to end the top of the ninth. Wait for it...

The Tallest Closer in MLB History, Jon Rauch towers over the mound in Camden Yards. Nick Markakis goes down swinging at a dramatic curve from Rauch. Kevin Mill-ah flies out to short left, where Guzman closes his glove on out number two...Aubrey Huff? Two-out single through Boone at first. Jay Payton goes quickly down 0-2, and pops up to the mound, Zimmerman calls for  and catches it, Nationals win. 2-1 final. 

Nationals now 19-26.