The Baltimore Orioles still remain in third place in the American League East division after winning four of its last six games played over the week.
The Orioles had a 29-25 record as of June 4, trailing the Boston Red Sox (30-25) by a half of game and the New York Yankees (32-21) by 3.5 games.
Baltimore Orioles’ Manny Machado slide into second on a double as Boston Red Sox’s Devon Marrero covers in the eighth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 4, 2017, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)
The margin of wins over the Orioles were even greater for both Boston and New York earlier in the week, but Baltimore was able to beat both teams multiple times over the last six days to cut the lead down in the division standings.
The Orioles beat the Yankees, 2-1, in a three-game away series played May 29-31. This included a 10-4 stomping from Baltimore on May 31 that showcased the explosive offense that O’s fans have been waiting to see. Power slugger Chris Davis hit his 11th home run of the year and Adam Jones added his ninth homer of the season in the same game.
Baltimore then won two of three games over Boston June 1-3, including a 7-5 victory on . Four different Orioles players hit home runs in this game: Davis recorded his 12th homer, Jones picked up his 10th while Mark Trumbo and Jonathan Schoop each hit their eighth homers of the year.
Wins over its division rivals have helped Baltimore stay in the hunt for the AL East lead, but the Orioles are still hurting from the seven-game losing slump they experienced a week ago. That losing skid gave the Yankees a large enough cushion over the competition that Baltimore may not see the top of the divisional standings for a while.
It’s going to take perhaps a six- or seven-game winning streak from the Orioles if they wish to retake command of the AL East. They’ll be facing the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates (25-31) in a short two-game series June 6-7, so that may help Baltimore get a streak going. The O’s then take on the Yankees, again in New York, in another three-game series June 9-11. If Baltimore manages to win all five of those game, they could possibly be back in the lead within seven days.
