First pitch: Monday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: Washington -105, Baltimore -105, Total: 8.5

The Orioles will be going for their fifth straight win when they host the Nationals on Monday.

Both Washington and Baltimore are playing well heading into this series, as the Nationals are 6-4 in their past 10 contests and the Orioles have won four straight. Washington most recently faced Philadelphia in a three-game set, and the Nats won two games for a second consecutive three-game series. The Orioles, meanwhile, hosted the White Sox last series, and Baltimore swept Chicago in a four-game set. The starters in this Monday matchup are going to be LHP Gio Gonzalez (3-0, 1.64 ERA, 34 K) for Washington and RHP Kevin Gausman (1-3, 7.55 ERA, 20 K) for Baltimore. Gausman should be well rested for this appearance, as he was ejected after only one inning of work against the Red Sox on May 3. He certainly needed that extra rest as well. It has been a rough season for the righty, and he’ll hope that he can turn things around here. One trend that stands out when looking at this one is that Washington is an impressive 11-1 against the money line in road games against teams allowing 0.5 or fewer stolen bases per game this season. OF Bryce Harper (Groin) is, however, questionable for the Nats, and that would be a huge loss for the team.

The Nationals have dealt with quite a few injuries recently, but they are still on a two-series winning streak. They’ll now look to get this one started off the right way, and Gio Gonzalez will be out there trying to earn the win. The lefty veteran has been outstanding this season, allowing two or fewer earned runs in all six of his starts on the year. If he can avoid giving up multiple homers against a powerful Orioles lineup then the Nationals will have a shot on Monday. Offensively, it’d be big if OF Bryce Harper (.376 BA, 9 HR, 27 RBI) is back out there. He was close to returning on Sunday, so it’s likely he’ll give it a go. Harper is on pace for a career year for Washington, so his return would be exciting for the rest of this lineup. Another guy that should help him provide some runs is 2B Daniel Murphy (.341 BA, 5 HR, 28 RBI). Murphy has continued to be an elite hitter, as evidenced by his absurdly high batting average. He also happens to be hot coming into this one, and it’s likely that will continue against a struggling Gausman.

Kevin Gausman was wrongfully ejected from his most recent start against the Red Sox, but that might have served him well moving forward. Gausman had a little bit of time to recharge the batteries and focus on this start, which is a big one for the righty. The Nationals are one of the best teams in baseball, so Gausman is going to need to be on his game here. It’s big that he limits his walks here, as he has walked two or more batters in all of his starts but the shortened last one. That’s not a good thing considering the fact that he has allowed two or more homers in two of his past three as well. Offensively, two guys that might help Gausman in this one are OF Adam Jones (.268 BA, 4 HR, 13 RBI) and 3B Manny Machado (.237 BA, 8 HR, 21 RBI). While Jones is just 6-for-25 against Gonzalez in his career, he does have a homer off of the lefty. Machado, meanwhile, is an impressive 4-for-10 against the pitcher. He also happens to be hitting a bit better coming into this one. He had struggled earlier in the year.