Nationals Edge Orioles 3-2 in Beltway Series Opener as Cavalli, Lile Shine

The Washington Nationals took the first game of the Beltway Series against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night, winning 3-2 at Nationals Park. The outcome sent Polymarket's single-game winner-take-all contract for the game to 0.5% after the fact, with the market now closed for the middle game on Saturday.

Daylen Lile extended his power surge, belting his fourth home run in four games and finishing 3-for-4 with a double and a single. The outfielder is batting .378 over his last 10 games, raising his season average to .274. Manager Blake Butera said Lile's confidence is growing as he sees results.

Cade Cavalli (1-2, 4.02 ERA) starts for Washington on Saturday against Baltimore's Chris Bassitt (3-2, 5.21). Cavalli allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings in his last outing. Bassitt has been sharp recently, lowering his ERA from 6.75 to 5.21 over his past three starts, and is 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three career starts against the Nationals.

The Orioles entered the ninth trailing 3-0 and scored twice on a Jeremiah Jackson sacrifice fly and a Gunnar Henderson RBI single. But with the bases loaded and two outs, reliever Richard Lovelady struck out Adley Rutschman for his second save.

Baltimore also announced before the game that infielder Jordan Westburg underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday and will miss the rest of the season. The team signed veteran outfielder Tommy Pham to a minor-league deal as depth.

The Polymarket contract for Saturday's middle game shows a 24-hour volume of $270,584, with the odds moving significantly in the last day. Traders are now pricing the game outcome as the market closes on May 23.