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       It was a Saturday afternoon in October, time for playoff baseball, and Nanny O’Brien’s was buzzing ahead of the first pitch. Many were clad in orange. They packed this Northwest Washington pub to cheer what they consider their home team.

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       That would be the Baltimore Orioles, not the Washington Nationals.

       Mia Scott, 35, drove there from Frederick, Md., to meet her brother, J.R. Scott, 28, who had come from Upper Marlboro, Md.

       “It feels like the beginning, right?” the big sister said. “Like this is just the start of something super great.”

       The siblings, who grew up in Prince George’s County, said they bonded over the ups and downs of the Orioles for years with their late father, Robert Scott, who would have enjoyed this moment as the team with the best regular season record in the American League was about to play the Texas Rangers at Camden Yards.

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       J.R. Scott confessed that he was jealous of the Nationals during their magical October 2019.

       “They won the World Series while we tumbled into an absolute dumpster fire of a team,” he said. “But right now, I don’t think there are fans in baseball that can be more excited about their future than Orioles fans.”

       A few stools away at the same bar, Mike Cortina, 37, an Orioles fan from Catonsville, Md., said he did not begrudge the D.C. franchise its shining moment. The Nationals won it all 14 years after their Washington debut. “We used to think of them as kind of like a little brother, because they were newer,” Cortina said. “When they made a run a few years ago, I was rooting for them.”

       But the Orioles haven’t won a World Series since 1983. That was before Cortina was born. “It feels good just to have one of those chances,” he said. “Just try to enjoy every moment of it because it hasn’t come along very often for them.”

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       On Half Street SE, next to the center field gate of Nationals Park, the bonkers energy of four Octobers ago was long gone. It was just another mellow fall Saturday, rainy at first, then sunny. Shoppers browsed a farmers market in the morning.

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       Emily Rosenthal, 30, was buying apples at a fruit stand. She wore a Nationals cap and hoodie that commemorated the 2019 triumph. She has lived in Navy Yard nearly seven years, and she estimates that she saw 30 games over the season that ended with a losing record but was less miserable than the year before. At one game, she picked up a bobblehead of Josiah Gray, an All-Star pitcher this year for the Nationals, adding to a collection that includes one of former Nationals star Anthony Rendon.

       “I’m just a loyal fan,” she said. Now Rosenthal is keeping an eye on the Orioles. “I’m hoping they actually do well, since they’re a local team.”

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       Sports bars around the ballpark were busy Saturday, but the patrons were focused mainly on college football. Big screens showed Maryland vs. Ohio State, and Texas vs. Oklahoma.

       Here and there were baseball fans. Those in orange stood out in a place where, during the season, red is the norm.

       Three Orioles fans from Baltimore drove to join a D.C. friend at Tom’s Watch Bar. The foursome, who went to high school together in Baltimore, sported jerseys of Orioles stars past (third baseman Manny Machado, now with the San Diego Padres) and present (catcher Adley Rutschman and infielder Gunnar Henderson).

       “Wish I was back home at the stadium, especially for the home game,” said Matt Manzoni, 26, who recently moved to Navy Yard. “This is a huge day, with a team that everybody gave no chance to make the playoffs.”

       The group was mindful of the empty ballpark nearby. “We’re here to flaunt,” joked Elliot King, 27, of Baltimore. “Now’s our chance.”

       Around the corner, at Walters Sports Bar, Alec Holtkamp, 24, of Arlington, Va., said the Nationals fans had already had their moment. Now, he said, they must give way to those rooting for the American League neighbors.

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       “The Nats reached the peak of the mountain much more recently than the O’s did, right?” Holtkamp said. “They don’t have a reason to be jealous of the Orioles.”

       Connor Jones, 24, who lives in Calvert County, was sporting an Orioles hoodie. He said he roots for the home state team. Growing up, Jones said, his mother was a huge fan of Orioles Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. He goes to Camden Yards whenever he can. This year’s division title in the American League East was a surprise.

       “I did not expect them to win,” he said. “Their division’s tough, and then they actually ended up on top. I’m impressed.”

       Hours later, Texas won the series opener, 3-2. Baltimore hosts Game 2 on Sunday afternoon.

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