High-stakes rivalry? Not here, not now

Giants vs. Dodgers.

Red Sox vs. Yankees.

Redskins vs. Cowboys.

Hillary vs. Barack.

Honest-to-goodness, rip-snorting rivalries can be found almost anywhere you look these days — but Washington Nationals vs. Baltimore Orioles isn’t among them.

Not yet.

Someday?

Maybe — who knows?

On the RFK Stadium scoreboard before last night’s initial 2007 meeting between the clubs, a gaudy logo insisted “Battle of the Beltway.” Since only one interstate highway was cited, this presumably referred to the frequently agonizing commutes of motorists on either I-495 or I-695.

The baseball confrontation should have been labeled “Battle of the Parkway” because state road 295 is what directly links the nation’s capital and Charm City. But no matter what it was called, the horsehide hassle seemed more like a mere skirmish — one ultimately won by the Baltimore baddies 5-4. Be still, my heart!

On a chilly, overcast night, ancient RFK was vastly unpopulated as the 7:05 hour of combat arrived. No official count was provided of visitors from the north, but as the national anthem approached its climax, the dratted cry of “O!” arose. In Washington? You almost expected vendors to be hawking crab cake sandwiches.

Several hours later, the official turnout was announced as 22,375, barely topping the average for 21 previous games and leaving more than 23,000 seats unburdened by fannies. Which seemed to prove earlier denials by people in both white and gray uniforms that any earthshaking struggle was imminent.

Sam Perlozzo, the Orioles’ manager and a George Washington University graduate, might have said it best: “This has a chance to be a great rivalry, but right now it’s just another interleague game — although some fans may feel it means a lot more.”

Manny Acta encountered two gung-ho types while chowing down in a restaurant Thursday night. As the Nats’ first-year manager told it during his pregame press conference, “A couple of guys came up and said, ‘You better win tomorrow!’ I told them I want to win every game, but I understand how people feel about the rivalry.”

A few of them anyway.

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