It’s easy to draw comparisons between the Nationals and Orioles. The two teams are 35 miles apart, and over the past six years have each undergone their own organizational rebuilds, which are now at different stages.

Of course, the Nationals won the World Series in 2019. The Orioles began their rebuild that year after a 47-115 season in 2018, which led to the hiring of executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde, and the drafting of Adley Rutschman with the No. 1 overall selection.

The Nats didn’t start their rebuild until halfway through the 2021 season by trading Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers. Then it really became a reality the following summer when they traded Juan Soto to the Padres for a package of five top prospects while the superstar outfielder was still two years away from free agency.

The time in between the respective rebuilds gave the Orioles a head start, and here they are six years later with one of the best records in baseball fresh off an American League East title and their first postseason appearance since 2016.

That’s where the Nationals hope to be in the coming years. But with the way the first edition of this year’s Beltway Series went – a two-game split with a wild back-and-forth finale last night – the similarities between the two teams are even more striking.

One of the many great things about the Orioles having so many good young players is that many of them came up together. Not only are they great friends – which no doubt helps them win on the field – but they know each other’s games so well.

They can provide insights and scouting reports on each other that might rival what a scout might see or report.

Take Jordan Westburg and Gunnar Henderson. Westburg once described himself as the older brother in the relationship. Now he knows younger bro is all grown up.

The 2023 American League Rookie of the Year is now playing like a future MVP. There is little Gunnar Henderson can’t do on a baseball field. He’s doing it all this year for the Orioles, batting .274 with a .914 OPS and 10 homers. 

“It doesn’t surprise me. To me it just seems like he’s taking that natural progression,” Westburg told me over the weekend in Cincinnati. “And he’s getting older, having more experience, maturing. But his strong game has always been there. I have always had the confidence in the ability that he is showing now. So, it doesn’t surprise me.

CINCINNATI – O’s lefty John Means is back on a major league mound tonight for the first time since Sept. 29, 2023, versus Boston. After not getting in a game in spring training and making six rehab starts at Triple-A, he faces the Cincinnati Reds in Game 2 of this weekend's series.

“Yeah, excited to watch him,” manager Brandon Hyde said today. “Long road back. The long road back was last year and now with the setback that he had it pushed the season back for him a little bit. But he’s excited to get out there. Hoping everything goes well and he finishes feeling good and healthy. We’re all looking forward to watching him pitch.”

O’s pitching has been on a roll recently with two shutouts in the last five games, allowing six total runs and 30 runs allowed the past 12 games with a team ERA of 2.33.

“With the amount of quality arms we have, especially in the rotation right now, the depth we have is huge. And you know, try to keep those guys healthy as much as possible,” added Hyde.

Hyde also today discussed the club’s stolen base success rate. While tonight’s opponent, Cincinnati, leads MLB with 56 steals, the Reds stolen base percentage of 83.6 percent ranks ninth in the majors. Baltimore, with 26 steals in 29 attempts, leads the majors with an 88.9 success rate.

The Orioles were forced to wait last night until the rain finally stopped to begin their three-game series in Cincinnati.

The delay also gave the organization time to catch its breath after the barrage of news and updates that hit the media.

To review:

Gunnar Henderson and Colton Cowser are monthly award winners.

I participated in the voting and won’t reveal my ballot, but Henderson and Royals catcher Salvador Perez had really strong cases as I recall. Yeah, really strong.

CINCINNATI – The Orioles won a much anticipated series with the New York Yankees. They took three of four and they moved into first place.

Could they have a letdown as their latest road trip begins in cloudy Cincinnati tonight?

“Not with this group. I think this group comes to play every day," said manager Brandon Hyde this afternoon. "That being said, this a really good Cincinnati Reds team. They gave us everything we could handle and more last year. They are unbelievably athletic and we’re going to face three outstanding arms on the mound.”

Hyde today said there is no update yet on testing done on right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, who recently went on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation.

“Not yet, no. He’s still just kind of letting everything kind of calm down and we’ll hopefully start him back up here pretty soon,” Hyde said.

The Orioles won three of four games from the Yankees, they lead the division, and they just claimed two monthly awards.

This is a team on a roll.

Shortstop Gunnar Henderson was named the American League’s Player of the Month and outfielder Colton Cowser was chosen Rookie of the Month.

Henderson batted .291 (34-for-117) with three doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, 24 RBIs, eight walks, 25 runs scored, six stolen bases and a .624 slugging percentage in 29 games. He’s tied for the major league lead in homers and ranks first in the AL in slugging and total bases. He’s tied for second in triples, extra-base hits and runs scored.

The 10 homers make Henderson the youngest player in history to reach that total before May 1.

If a team wants to chase a division title and maybe chase 100 wins in the process, it needs to find a lot of different ways to win games through the long season.

While the Orioles have gotten a lot of attention for their power display so far this year, the team is not without speed. And the Orioles run the bases well. They often gain an extra 90 feet on their opponent with a runner going from first to third.

Or a runner stealing second base. They do that well and with a very high percentage success rate.

Through Tuesday’s games, the Orioles ranked sixth in the American League with 24 steals, and they ranked second in the AL and MLB with a 88.9 success rate, stealing 24-of-27. That percentage at one time was up at about 95 percent, but they’ve had a couple of caught stealing's recently.

“It’s more individual. We have guys that can run,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’re going to be aggressive when we feel like it’s necessary and we feel like it’s appropriate to run. We ran a little bit on the road trip (to K.C. and Anaheim) just because it was kind of given to us. So, we were able to, you know kind of identify certain guys we were able to run on more than others. The score dictates it, a lot of things dictate that.”

The Orioles have gotten plenty of attention for their homer prowess. They began play last night leading the majors in homers and in homers per game. They had hit at least one homer in 21 of their 28 games and went 15-6 in those.

But in this series with the New York Yankees, the Baltimore pitching has led the way to wins by 2-0 and 4-2.

The O’s staff saw a pair of ninth-inning leads get away over the weekend versus Oakland. But the last two nights, lefty Danny Coulombe picked up his third career save and last night right-hander Jacob Webb fanned three in getting the last four outs to record his fifth career save.

Webb’s five career saves have come for three different clubs, with three for Atlanta and one each for the Angels and Orioles. His last before last night was June 15, 2023 for the Angels at Texas.

Against the Yankees Webb got seven whiffs on nine swings. That was big-time swing and miss stuff in that outing and now, over 13 1/3 innings he has a 2.03 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and .191 batting average against.

With Monday’s 2-0 win over the New York Yankees, the Orioles improved to 18-10, achieved a first-place tie atop the division and improved to 7-3 in series-opening games.

Win the first one and the chances to win the series go up, said Captain Obvious. And the Orioles are 6-3 in series play in 2024.

With one win the next three days they would at least split this four-game series. Should they do that or better, they will extend an impressive streak. The Orioles have gone 15 straight AL East series without losing one. That is the longest streak in club history behind a 13-series non-losing streak from 1969. Since early last April, they have won 11 and split four other AL East series.

Gunnar Henderson’s leadoff homer in the last of the first Monday was his third leadoff homer of this year and fifth of his career. With 10 homers, he is tied with the Angels’ Mike Trout for both the AL and MLB lead. Two other players have hit nine homers and three have hit eight.

At his current homer pace, Henderson would hit 58 homers this year. Last night he became the third player in club history to have hit 10 or more before May 1. Brady Anderson hit 11 in 1996 and Frank Robinson hit 10 in 1969. At 22 years, 306 days, Gunnar becomes the youngest player in MLB history with 10 home runs before May 1 (previously: COL’s Trevor Story, 23-167 on 4/30).

When Gunnar Henderson drove a Clarke Schmidt curveball to the flag court in right – a ball he smoked at 112.3 mph, his hardest-hit homer this year – the Orioles series with the Yankees was off and running.

They got off to a good start and had a strong finish.

No leads got away on this night as the Orioles beat the New York Yankees 2-0 to improve to 18-10 and tie for first place. Technically, via a win percentage of .643 to New York’s .633, the O’s have the AL East lead.

It was another O’s win that had Henderson’s fingerprints all over it. Another game where he showed off his massive baseball tools. Another game where his impact was vast and the plays he made big.

He helped beat the Yankees with his bat, his glove and his speed.

My mailbag is like Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction” or Alexander Godunov in “Die Hard.” You think it’s finished and suddenly it bolts upright in a tub filled with water or somehow removes a heavy iron chain from around its neck after an apparent strangulation.

If it were the Wicked Witch of the East, it would have wiggled out from underneath Dorothy’s house. Could have saved her a lot of trouble.

I tried to empty it six days ago, but here we are again.

Also indestructible are my rules against editing. I make my style clear without needing length to explain it.

And finally, an important reminder that my mailbag deserves its own bobblehead and yours is clogging the basepaths when kids run the bases.

Gunnar Henderson paused at home plate, as he’s done for many of his home runs. Not too long as to show up the pitcher. His timing is ideal with his swing and how he admires its work.

Henderson hit his third leadoff homer tonight and his 10^th overall to tie Mike Trout for the major league lead. He barreled the seventh pitch from Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt, a knuckle-curve, and lined it onto the flag court in right field at 112.3 mph off the bat.

Next came the familiar celebration after rounding the bases, the hop and the low, hard hand slap with Adley Rutschman, followed by the double-slap with Ryan O’Hearn near the dugout.

Only two other Orioles totaled 10 homers before May 1: Brady Anderson in 1996 and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson in 1969.

"I'm not expecting him to go deep in the first inning," said manager Brandon Hyde. "I just want to see him hit as much as possible."

Jordan Westburg began yesterday’s game on the bench, only the second time this season that his name was missing from the lineup. He wouldn’t budge because of a stomach virus, robbing the Orioles of a bat that might have impacted the outcome of the game, a 7-6 loss to the Athletics.

Westburg has made 18 starts at third base and six at second, and he’s also served once as the designated hitter. He’ll return to the infield tonight if he’s recovered from the bug, still charged with only one error in 93 major league games.

Memories are fuzzy when it comes to identifying the location and exact situation, but Westburg’s lone miscue happened on Aug. 15, 2023 in San Diego. Manager Brandon Hyde did some shuffling after the top of the seventh inning, moving Ramón Urías from third base to first, shifting Ryan O’Hearn from first to right field, and sending Westburg into the game to play third.

The Orioles were down 10-1 when the first batter in the inning, Xander Bogaerts reached on a ground ball that Westburg fielded to his left before bouncing the throw. Urías couldn’t handle it and Westburg was charged with the error.

Bogaerts raced to third base on Jake Cronenworth’s double, but Mike Baumann escaped the jam with two strikeouts and a fly ball. No harm done.

The Orioles scored twice last night in the opening game of another homestand, a paltry output by their standards but also exhibiting two ways they can go about their offensive business.

They collected three singles in the third inning, the last two with two outs, keeping a rally alive and passing the bat to the next guy.

Cedric Mullins launched a changeup onto the flag court in right field in the fourth to break a tie. They also can flex their muscle.

This is a special group, with numbers early on that haven’t been posted here in a long time.

The game began with the Orioles leading the American League with a .260 average, .459 slugging percentage and .780 OPS. The last time they finished a season first in all three categories was also the first time they were crowned champions.

Gunnar Henderson is having a remarkable start to his season for the Orioles and is second in the American League with an OPS of 1.022. One of his teammates is fifth and it's not Adley Rutschman or Anthony Santander, Ryan O'Hearn or Ryan Mountcastle. It's not Colton Cowser, who has an OPS of 1.139 but not enough plate appearances to qualify for league leaders.

It is Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg, who like his friend and teammate Cowser, has sure taken his game to a higher level this season. And with an OPS of .941, it is Westburg that ranks fifth-best right now in the AL. He is keeping company with some great hitters as the Yankees Juan Soto is one spot ahead of him while Mike Trout and Bobby Witt Jr. are behind Westburg.

After waiting his chance to get to the bigs – he had 714 plate appearances combined in 2022 and 2023 at Triple-A Norfolk – he finally got his first big league opportunity late last June.

He’s been running with it ever since.

And this is a high draft pick, but not a 1/1 like Rutschman or Jackson Holliday or the No. 2 pick in the draft like Heston Kjerstad or No. 5 like Cowser. He was taken No. 30 overall out of Mississippi State in the 2020 MLB Draft.

The Orioles are refreshed after yesterday’s break, which the bullpen needed, and ready to host the Athletics for three games and dive back into division competition with four against the Yankees.

Eight of nine series will be outside the American League East before the Yankees come to town.

It could have something or nothing to do with the 16-8 record and eight wins in the last 10 games. This is a very good team, which falls way short of a hot take. Just stating the facts.

The Orioles will be in the playoffs. The only question is whether they’re still active in November. I’m not making any plans until the second week of the month.

On paper at least, they can only get better with injured pitchers returning, Jackson Holliday eventually being Jackson Holliday, other prospects ready for promotion, and one or more trades likely at the deadline.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Through the first part of this 2024 season, the Orioles offense has been very productive. Going into Wednesday’s MLB games, the Orioles ranked first in the majors in homers and homers per game. They ranked No. 2 in slugging and OPS and extra-base hits. 

They ranked third in the majors scoring 5.65 runs per game. That is a big number.

Only once in O’s history have the Orioles scored 900 runs for the season and it was in 1996 during the Steroid era when the team scored 949, the club record. The current team is on pace to score 915 runs.

The team record for homers, also set in 1996, is 257 and their current pace would see them approach that with 254 longballs.

They are doing a lot right on offense. So why is this team not drawing more walks and should we really care if they are scoring so well?

ANAHEIM, Calif. – As this game got into the middle innings today, it seemed Gunnar Henderson and Dean Kremer were battling for the O's top starring roles.

Henderson kept getting hits and driving in runs off lefty pitchers and Kremer kept getting whiffs and putting up zeros with his four-seamer and cutter.

It all added up to an Orioles 6-5 victory as they took a 6-0 lead and then held off the Angels. The Orioles win this series and complete a 4-2 road trip. They head home 16-8 and get ready to host the Athletics on Friday night.

The Orioles are now 3-1 in rubber match games and have won six of their eight series.

After Los Angeles cut a six-run deficit to 6-4 on Zach Neto's homer of Yennier Cano in the eighth and 6-5 in the ninth, closer Craig Kimbrel got the final outs as they held on to win.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – This series began Monday night when the Orioles held off the Angels 4-2 as Craig Kimbrel fanned Mike Trout with the bases loaded and two outs to close out the win.

But with that momentum heading into last night, the Orioles fell behind 7-0 in the fourth inning and lost 7-4 to the Angels.

The Orioles began play Tuesday in first place by a half-game atop the American League East and ended back in second place by a half-game after their loss and a Yankees win over the Athletics.

These two teams have been jockeying for first and second place for several days now and will meet each other in a series that begins Monday night.

But first the Orioles wrap up this series today with the winner taking this series. The Orioles are 15-8 and Tuesday’s loss was just their second in the last nine games and fourth in the past 14. They saw a three-game win streak ended as the Angels snapped their five-game losing streak.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Lefty John Means made a fifth rehab appearance on the farm last night, pitching for Triple-A Norfolk. His next turn is likely to come Sunday and it’s possible that could be in Baltimore versus the Athletics.

While Corbin Burnes, Cole Irvin and Albert Suárez have been listed to go Friday through Sunday in that series, that is subject to change pending Means’ status.

“We’re talking about that right now,” manager Brandon Hyde said this afternoon. “He feels really good after that start. He gave up seven singles, they were not very well hit, the stuff is much improved. He’s really encouraged about how he felt during the outing and today.”

Means’ results have not been great in those five games with an ERA of 13.85 in 11 2/3 innings. But it's more about how he is feeling and his pitch quality and pitch count, which reached 79 last night. He could make another rehab start if the Orioles decide he needs that, or they could call him to Baltimore for the next one.

“It’s possibly Sunday, one more with Norfolk or with us. We’re discussing that now,” Hyde said.