O's complete sweep over Nats

Still in the hunt for a playoff spot in the NL East, the Washington Nationals desperately needed the weekend wins for the win column. The Orioles, on the other hand, needed the same wins for nothing but team morale. Unfortunately for the Nats, they suffered a dreadful sweep to their Beltway rival O's that did nothing but boost the confidence of the orange and black for the unforeseeable future.

Jeremy Guthrie wasn't spectacular on Sunday and neither was Brad Bergesen and Jake Arrieta the nights prior. But the O's offense finally came alive and the bullpen - Jason Berken, David Hernandez and Alfredo Simon, to name a few - did their part. Combined with some sloppy play and poor relief pitching from the Nats, the O's were finally able to capitalize on their opponent's mistakes and get three much-needed wins to increase their winning streak to a season-high four games.

"We did a lot of things well this weekend,  said Matt Wieters, who singled and scored in the O's important fifth inning on Sunday. "Thing we need to continue to do. We pitched well and more importantly we came up with some timely hits."

What comes first, the chicken or the egg? Winning can give teams confidence and confidence provides wins. Either way, the O's clearly have both.

"It's very nice. Guys should feel very good about that," Juan Samuel said of the sweep. "We're certainly enjoying it. "The guys are feeding off each other... hitting is contagious as you know. And guys are picking each other up."

The Orioles not only took three straight from the Nats but they came from behind to win all three... a trait they've been lacking throughout the 2010 season.

Is this a sign of good things to come? With an off day tomorrow, the O's will play three more at home vs the Oakland As, who return to Camden Yards for the second time this year. They will then hit the road and return to AL East play to  face the Red Sox followed by three in Detroit and four in Texas.