BALTIMORE -- After the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals expended everything they had in three consecutive spirited games, the neighbouring rivals parted ways knowing they will see each other again in August. And perhaps again after that. Steve Pearce homered and scored twice to help Wei-Yin Chen earn his ninth victory, and the Orioles beat Washington 4-3 on Thursday night for their eighth win in 10 games. Adam Jones and Nelson Cruz both drove in a run for the Orioles, who built a 4-0 lead in the third inning and held on. Baltimore took two of three from the Nationals in this rain-shortened, home-and-home interleague showdown between division leaders. "I personally enjoyed that series a lot, just cause of the proximity and the atmosphere down in D.C.," said Orioles reliever Darren ODay, who worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth. "Theyre top of the NL. Hopefully we get to play them a few more times, later in the year in October. That would be nice." The Orioles won the opener in Washington, needing 11 innings to do so, before rain postponed Tuesdays game until Aug. 4. The Nationals prevailed on Wednesday before coming up short in the finale. Although the teams are based only 40 miles apart, enthusiasm for the series isnt exactly Mets-Yankees or Cubs-White Sox. But theres still hope. "It was a good series. It was very well put together," losing pitcher Gio Gonzalez said. "It showed that theres a lot of hope for a Beltway Series. They looked good and we looked good. Everyone had some fun." Jayson Werth homered for Washington and Ryan Zimmerman had two hits and an RBI. Chen (9-3) gave up three runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings, walking none and striking out six. The Taiwanese left-hander is 6-1 in 12 starts since May 3, and his nine wins are most on the team. After ODay survived the eighth, Zach Britton got three outs for his 15th save, capping his 22nd consecutive scoreless appearance at home by retiring Werth with a runner on first. At that point, the Orioles and many in crowd of 30,417 breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Thats a very good team," Jones said. "We love the competition, and we love the fact that you never know what could happen in October. You could have a Battle of the Beltway when its a little colder and bring the fans back out." Gonzalez (6-5) allowed three earned runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings. His streak of 22 consecutive scoreless innings ended when Pearce connected in the first. Gonzalez won his previous three starts without giving up a run and was unbeaten in four starts following a one-month stay on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. "I felt fine," he said. "Its a tough lineup, all the way down to the last guy." Pearce put the Orioles in front for good with a drive to left on a 2-0 pitch. It was his 11th home run, more than his previous three seasons combined. Baltimore added three runs in the third after Gonzalez retired the first two batters. After an RBI double by Jones put runners at second and third, Cruz grounded a run-scoring single in the hole that shortstop Ian Desmond gloved before throwing wildly to third, allowing Jones to score. That ended Washingtons 13-game errorless streak, which matched the teams longest run since the franchise moved from Montreal in 2005. Zimmermans two-out RBI single made it 4-1 in the fourth, and Washington got runners on the corners with two outs in the fifth before Chen struck out Anthony Rendon on three pitches. The Nationals closed to 4-3 in the sixth. After Werth homered on an 0-2 pitch -- his second long ball in two nights -- Zimmerman doubled and Desmond chased Chen with an RBI double off the scoreboard in right field before Tommy Hunter retired Wilson Ramos on a groundout. Ramos later flied out with the bases full in the eighth. NOTES: Desmond got hit on the thumb with a pitch but said he was OK. ... Baltimore optioned RHP Bud Norris to Double-A Bowie and recalled RHP Preston Guilmet from Triple-A Norfolk. Norris pitched Wednesday and wont be needed against until after the All-Star break. ... The Orioles host the New York Yankees in a three-game series before heading into the All-Star break. Miguel Gonzalez (4-5) faces New Yorks Hiroki Kuroda in the opener Friday night. ... Washington closes the first half with a three-game series in Philadelphia. Jordan Zimmermann will start for the Nationals on Friday night. ... Ramos extended his career-best hitting streak to 13 games, but teammate Bryce Harper went 0 for 3 and is in a 1-for-20 skid over his last six games. Randy Jones Jersey . Others describe it as taking the parrot for a walk. Greg Garcia Jersey . Raonic, the mens No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., needed more than three hours to overcome Frenchman Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 and become the first Canadian man into the fourth round at Roland Garros. http://www.padressale.com/padres-aaron-loup-jersey/ . Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves to backstop the Penguins to a 2-1 victory over the Flames, handing Calgary its team record sixth consecutive home regulation loss. Austin Hedges Padres Jersey . According to Dave Stubbs of The Montreal Gazette, preliminary talks have begun between Markov - an unrestricted free agent this summer - and general manager Marc Bergevin. Tony Gwynn Padres Jersey . on the 15-day disabled Monday list because of a strained right hamstring.MONTREAL - What should be the biggest world junior championship ever is set to begin with pressure weighing heavily on Canada to end a five-year gold medal drought.The 11-day event to take place in Canadas two biggest cities, Toronto and Montreal, opens on Friday with the host country, led by 17-year-old top NHL draft prospect Connor McDavid, widely considered the favourite despite a string of disappointments since its last victory in 2009.Weve addressed (the pressure) for sure, Scott Salmond, Hockey Canadas vice-president for national teams, said this week. We talked about what it means to play at home to make sure were focused on the task at hand.But what I get from this group is a real level of excitement. We realize what type of team we are and how we want to play and were excited by the opportunity. They say you play all year in your league for home ice advantage. Weve got home ice advantage every game. So for us, its less about pressure and more about enjoying it.Canada opens group stage play at the Bell Centre on Dec. 26 against Slovakia, then faces Germany on Dec. 27, defending champion Finland on Dec. 29 and, in what is becoming a tradition, the United States on Dec. 31.Group B teams Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Switzerland will play at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.Canada will move to Toronto for the single-game knockout rounds. The final is Jan. 5 at the ACC.Hockey Canada, which hopes to beat the record $21 million in profits earned at the 2012 event in Calgary and Edmonton, secured rights to the 2015 and 2017 tournaments for Toronto and Montreal, charging steep ticket prices and looking for sellouts in the two NHL rinks.In 2017, the settings will reverse, with Canada playing group stage games in Toronto and knockout games in Montreal.Canadian dominance of the event, whose official name is the IIHF World Under-20 Championship, is no longer taken for granted. Canada won five years in a row twice, from 1993 to 1997 and from 2005 to 2009, but it is now a tougher tournament to win.More countries have talent at least close to matching Canada, notably the U.S., Russia, Sweden and Finland, and some European teams no longer play the soft game that left them vulnerable to Canadas forechecking style.And with the games played on the smaller NHL-size rinks, the Americans in particular will be gold medal contenders. The U.S. is led by Jack Eichel of Boston University, who is McDavids rival for the honour of being picked first in the next NHL draft.Sweden, led by Maple Leafs draft pick William Nylander and Canadiens prospect Jacob de la Rose, will be gunning for gold after taking silver the last two years.Signs that the tournament was getting harder to win were evident in Canadas 2009 victory, which needed Jordan Eberles shootout goal to beat Russia 6-5 in the semifinals before downing Sweden 5-1 in the final.The next year in Saskatoon, Ebeerle scored twice late in the third period to tie the U.ddddddddddddS., only to see John Carlson win it in overtime for the Americans on a magnificent end-to-end rush.Then came 2011 in Buffalo, when Canada led the final 3-0 after two periods only to see Russia storm back with five goals in the third.Canada beat Finland for bronze in 2012, but came fourth in 2013 in Ufa, Russia and again last year in Malmo, Sweden. It was the first time Canada was shut out of the medals two years in a row since a three-year stretch from 1979 to 1981.Disappointment was evident among fans and the Canadian hockey community.Even McDavid was moved to say during the Canadian teams pre-tournament camp that people are starting to doubt Canada and they dont really believe any more. Its annoying a little bit. You see how past people did and how great they were and everything like that. People just dont expect that of us anymore. They expect us to lose. That’s just not how it should be for Canada.Perhaps McDavids lets show em approach can be a rallying point for this years squad, the roots of which took shape when Canada sent its second youngest team ever to Malmo.Seven players are back for a second shot at gold, including McDavid, goalie Zach Fucale, defenceman Josh Morrissey and forwards Nic Petan, Frederik Gauthier, Sam Reinhart and Curtis Lazar. While last years squad was heavy on 18-year-olds, this one has 16 players who are 19.Salmond denied the Malmo tournament was merely a training ground for the glitzier event in Toronto and Montreal.It may look that way, but it wasnt, he said. That staff picked what we felt was the best group to give us a chance to win then.Sure it has helped us this year because of the number of players we have back. But it wasnt by design.Canada tried to select a stronger offensive roster this time, eschewing players only there to check. Rather, they picked talent to give them scoring depth on all four lines.Canada could have been even stronger had Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Drouin, Bo Horvat and Nathan MacKinnon been released by their NHL clubs, but it is no longer the only country missing players. For one, Washington refused to loan 19-year-old Andre Burakovsky to Sweden.But help came for Canada when the New York Rangers loaned sniper Anthony Duclair and the Ottawa Senators provided Lazar, who was named the teams captain.I like the fact that were an older group, said Ryan Jankowski, Canadas director of player personnel. Weve got skill throughout the lineup.Of course youd love to have MacKinnon, Horvat or Drouin, but I like the group we have. We have a nice balance throughout our 20 skaters.A highlight of this years event will be the showcase for McDavid and Eichel.Many consider McDavid, who makes dazzling plays at top speed, the best prospect since Sidney Crosby in 2005. Eichel is a dynamic speedster who also played at last years world juniors. ' ' '