The reeling Orioles, who have lost 11 of their past 13 games, host the red-hot Red Sox this week in a pivotal three-game set. The Orioles have been dropping in the standings faster than one of Zach Britton's sliders, and if they don't snap out of it against the Red Sox at Camden Yards, they might not get another chance to catch their AL East nemeses.
Two weeks ago, the Orioles were in first place in the division. Now they are in the cellar, a game and a half behind the Red Sox, who are coming off a four-game sweep of the Angels and have won eight of their last nine games after getting off to a slow start.
"We're playing good baseball," Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said after Sunday's win over the Angels. "The pitching is better, the hitting is better and the defense is better. That's it. There's no secret."
As my colleague Jeff Zrebiec pointed out on the Orioles Insider blog, it's not a good time for the Orioles to face the Red Sox. But over the past several years, there has rarely been a good time for the Orioles to face the Red Sox. Under Terry Francona, who has been Boston's manager since 2004, the Red Sox are 42-22 at Camden Yards and have lost just four of their 21 series in Baltimore.
The Orioles went 9-9 against the Red Sox in 2010 and split their six games after manager Buck Showalter took over. The Orioles say they want to beat the big boys in the AL East. It sure didn't happen against New York. And they will be eating Boston's dust in the division race, too, if they don't hang tough this week.