A May weekend series with the Washington Nationals suddenly represents so much more for the Baltimore Orioles.

It’s no longer a random matchup against a common interleague opponent.

The Orioles are on the precipice of total collapse and are at risk of throwing away a season in a window they thought would lead to championship contention.

Baltimore enters the series after getting swept by the Minnesota Twins for the second time in the last 10 days. Those six losses to the Twins are part of a 2-8 stretch and a 3-9 May for the Orioles.

It’s May 16, and the O’s are 9 1/2 games out of first place in the American League East and own the fourth-worst winning percentage in Major League Baseball.

There’s been positive talk in the clubhouse throughout this ugly season. The players believe they can find a solution and get on a winning track.

Confidence can only do so much for a team, though, and it hasn’t done anything for the 2025 Orioles.

Injuries, poor pitching, and a feeble offense have put the Orioles in a bad place.

Baltimore is starting to get healthy, and a series at home against Washington represents a fine opportunity to win some games and begin a resurrection. A couple of losses, however, could lead to a lousy truth the Orioles don’t want to accept.

Another series loss to the Nats would sting the Orioles and tank the season

The Orioles have mostly handled the Nationals over the last two decades.

Baltimore leads the all-time series over Washington since the Nats came from Montreal in 2005. The Nats are trying to turn that trend around this season.

Washington took two of three from Baltimore in a three-game series in April. The O’s managed to score only five runs the entire series, though they did hold the Nats to one run in the finale to avoid the sweep.

Another series win for the Nationals this weekend would mark the first time they’ve won the season series against the Orioles since 2018. The Nats have won the season series twice since 2005.

The O’s might feel good about their chances of claiming the series with Cade Povich and Zach Eflin starting two of the games.

Povich’s only win of the season was against the Nats on April 24. The lefty fanned five and allowed one run on four hits across 6 2/3 innings. It was his longest outing of the season.

Eflin has been nothing short of brilliant since the Orioles acquired him last July.

He won his first start since returning from a lat strain on May 11, tossing five solid innings against the Los Angeles Angels. Eflin was also brilliant in his last outing against the Nationals, blanking them through six innings.

There’s a chance the Orioles are over 10 games behind the New York Yankees on Monday. Baltimore must win the series over Washington to avoid that.

The Orioles players say they can right the ship. It’s time to show the fans they can back their words.