Baltimore Orioles and the Competitive AL East

Jun 11, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop (6) throws to first base for a double play after forcing out Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar (11) in the third inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

The AL East is once again proving to be one of, if not the best division in Major League Baseball.

The division has the best combined record, with the AL East teams a combined 20-plus games over .500.

However, it is also the closest division. The Orioles and Red Sox are each 11 games over, Toronto is four games over, and the Yankees are one game over and the Rays are three games under (as of 530 p.m. Saturday.)

Three games under is by far the best worst team in a division. In fact, 11 teams have records worse than the Rays.

Baltimore and Boston are the fourth and fifth-best teams in the game, behind only the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals.

In the Wild Card, the Red Sox lead, Toronto is only 1.5 back of the second wild card, the Yankees only 3 back, and Tampa 5.

So, what does this all mean? What it means is that the division, and the games between divisional teams, are going to be dogfights. Let’s look at how the Orioles have done in series against division rivals.

April 8, 10 vs. Tampa: 2-0

April 11-13 at Red Sox: 2-1

April 19-21 vs. Toronto: 2-1

April 25-27 at Tampa: 1-2

May 3-5 vs. New York: 2-1

May 30-June 2 vs. Boston: 2-2

June 3-5 vs. New York: 2-1

June 9-12 vs. Toronto: 1-2 so far

The Orioles are 14-10 in the division, which is not a lot of games compared to the competition. Boston is 14-15 vs. the AL East, Toronto is 21-17, New York is 10-17, Tampa is 12-12.

The Orioles best in-division record is 4-2 vs. the New York Yankees. Their worst is 3-3 vs. the Toronto Blue Jays, and the team doesn’t have a losing record vs. any division opponent.