As they chase AL East crown, which teams will be chasing the Orioles?

Well, that was two impressive back-to-back wins by the Orioles and three impressive wins on this road trip. Lose a ninth-inning lead on Friday and win 8-4 at Oakland on Saturday. Lose big by a 10-2 score Sunday and respond by taking two in a row in Anaheim against the Angels. The Angels began this series with a Major League-best 28-10 record since June 6 and are averaging 5.6 runs per game in that time. In two games against the Orioles, they have scored four runs on just 11 hits and have just two hits for extra bases. The Angels are batting .172 in this series and they've never had the lead. Looking down the road though, how will the American League East play out? Right now the Orioles have a four-game lead and their closest pursuers are Toronto and New York, who are tied for second place. But Boston and Tampa Bay have been playing better and both still could be a factor in this race before the end of the year. The Red Sox are 8 1/2 games out and Tampa Bay is eight games back. Boston had won five in a row and eight of its last nine games before losing to Toronto last night. Tampa Bay is 17-5 in its last 22 games and beat St. Louis on Tuesday night. Both clubs still have designs on making a move in this division. The Rays have won six in a row overall and seven in a row on the road. Tampa Bay is 24-11 since June 10. Will Tampa Bay and Boston replace Toronto and New York as the teams closest to the Orioles at the top of the division? Both are going to face challenging schedules in the next few weeks. Over that time, Boston will play Toronto, Tampa Bay, Toronto, the New York Yankees, St. Louis and the Los Angeles Angels. Tampa Bay will be playing St. Louis, Boston, Milwaukee, the Angels and Oakland. The Orioles are pursuing their first AL East title since 1997. As they try to win the division, which clubs will be their closest pursuers? More notes on the O's: * In this series, O's starters Bud Norris and Miguel Gonzalez have pitched to an ERA of 1.88. In 14 1/3 innings they have allowed 11 hits and three earned runs with six walks and 13 strikeouts. * Since the start of last season the Orioles are 7-2 against the Angels and they are 5-1 in Anaheim. * Tonight the Orioles are going for their first three-game sweep in Anaheim since Aug. 27-29, 2010. * Mike Trout and Albert Pujols are a combined 1-for-15 with five strikeouts in the series. Trout hit a two-run homer in the eighth last night. * Coming into this series the Angels were baseball's hottest team with wins in seven of eight and 12 of 14 games. At home they had won 14 of 16, 20 of 23 and 25 of their last 30 games. Now the Angels have lost two straight for the first time since June 15-16.