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Jun 26, 2009 - 4:01 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Washington (20-49) at Baltimore (32-39), 7:05 p.m. EDT

The Baltimore Orioles are stumbling back home after a lopsided three-game sweep, but there's probably no one they'd rather have waiting for them than the Washington Nationals.

One night after the lowly Nationals ended their own three-game losing streak, the Orioles will try to do the same at Washington's expense in Friday's opener of the latest Beltway Series.

Baltimore (32-40) had won five straight and seven of eight against the class of the NL East, opening its six-game road trip with a three-game sweep of defending World Series champion Philadelphia.

But the Florida Marlins sent the Orioles to an 11-3 loss Thursday to finish a sweep. Baltimore's team ERA swelled to 5.06, which ranks 28th in the majors, after giving up 23 runs in the series.

"We fell behind early and we couldn't stay away from the big inning," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "They put back-to-back crooked numbers up and we didn't recover."

Adam Jones went 0 for 5. The young outfielder is enjoying a breakout season and batting a team-best .302, but he was 0 for 12 against the Marlins.

Baltimore will hope for an improvement at Camden Yards, where the team is 21-17. While the Orioles are buried in last place in the AL East, they're in better shape than their interleague rivals, who are the only team in the majors with fewer than 30 wins.

Even after their 9-3 victory over Boston on Thursday snapped a three-game skid, the Nationals (21-49) have a long way to go to reach that mark. But they have seen signs of progress lately, winning four straight last week.

They've also received improved pitching, with left-hander Ross Detwiler taking part. Another first-year player in Washington's rookie-laden rotation, Detwiler (0-3, 4.76 ERA) is still looking for his first major league win, but he held Toronto to two runs in seven-plus innings of the Nationals' 5-3, 12-inning win Saturday.

"I felt real bad for the kid, because he deserved to win the ballgame today," Nationals manager Manny Acta told his team's official Web site.

Baltimore rookie Brad Bergesen (4-2, 3.94) has also been effective lately. Bergesen's run of four straight quality starts ended Saturday when he allowed four runs in 6 1-3 innings at Philadelphia, but the right-hander still has a 2.35 ERA in his last five starts and has not lost since May 19.

He has pitched at least eight innings in all three home starts over that span, going 3-0 with a 1.44 ERA.

Detwiler and Bergesen both pitched in the teams' previous series in Washington, although neither received a decision.

Detwiler probably deserved a victory after allowing one hit in six innings of Baltimore's 2-1 win May 23, while Bergesen avoided a loss in the Orioles' 8-5 defeat a day later despite giving up four runs in 5 2-3 innings.

The Orioles won two out of three, but they still need one more win to even the Beltway Series. Since moving to Washington, the Nationals are 11-10 against Baltimore.

Washington may be without first baseman Nick Johnson, who left Thursday's game with a bruised shin after getting hit by a pitch.