Baltimore Orioles and the beast that is the AL East

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Jun 3, 2017; Baltimore, MD, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher David Price (24) throws a pitch to a Baltimore Orioles batter in the second inning during a game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Patrick McDermott-USA TODAY Sports /

Boston Red Sox: Second place in AL East, 31-25

The Red Sox have to feel fortunate with where they are considering some of the injuries they have dealt with. David Price is back and appears to be healthy. Chris Sale has been magnificent. Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts continue to be All-Star caliber players at their positions. The Red Sox are also looking at the return of Tyler Thornburg and Carson Smith soon, two guys who will help anchor the back of a bullpen in which Craig Kimbrel has been lights out.

Cause for concern: Before this weekend in Baltimore, Andrew Benintendi and Hanley Ramirez were both in deep slumps. They may have woken up. Pablo Sandoval‘s defense is horrendous, and is his bat worth it? Has Dustin Pedroia finally reached the twilight of his career? He has been injured twice now this season.

With the recent concerning injury to Eduardo Rodriguez, it leaves question marks in the rotation with Rick Porcello nowhere near his Cy Young ability from last year and Drew Pomeranz‘s continued mediocrity. A starting rotation with two aces is good, but if your other three pitchers are wildly inconsistent, injured, or just plain not good, it still makes it difficult to be the type of team the Red Sox want to be.

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