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Nationals GM Mike Rizzo: Buck Showalter, Orioles should 'quit whining' about rainout

MLB, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals

A make-up game has only led to problems between the Orioles and Nationals, with Washington general manager Mike Rizzo telling his neighbors from up I-95 to "quit whining."

The rift stems from Thursday's game, won by Washington 6-1, that was rescheduled from May 11 due to a rainstorm that never came.

After Thursday night's loss, O's manager Buck Showalter quipped that the weather was "marginally better" than it had been in May.

Rizzo had no interest in Showalter's veiled comments as Thursday's game replaced a scheduled off day that was coming after a nine-game West Coast trip for Washington. The Orioles had played Wednesday at home -- less than 40 miles away from D.C.

"It rained all day that day, and the forecast said it would rain until 9:30 or 10," Rizzo told The Washington Post, recalling the events of May 11. "I sat in Buck's office at 6:30, and we talked about it for 20 minutes. He was 100 percent on-board. He didn't say anything about not canceling the game.

"Their GM [Dan Duquette] was nowhere to be found for three, four hours. We wanted to play the next day. They refused to play then, so the next [open] day was [Thursday]. They drove 32 miles to get there. We flew 3,000 [expletive] miles, and we beat their [behinds]. So quit your whining. Quit whining."

While an interleague regular-season loss that resulted in a series split wouldn't often lead to much drama, Showalter further jabbed at the nature of the team's rescheduled game.

"Lot of byproducts of the cancellation," Showalter said, likely referring to his team missing two starters (Adam Jones and Manny Machado) due to injury and a less-heralded pitcher on the mound for the make-up game (Alec Asher on Thursday as opposed to Dylan Bundy in May).

The Nationals are now in the middle of a seven-game homestand, while the Orioles are working through an eight-game road swing. The two teams aren't scheduled to play again this season.

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