Bring on the East: O's remaining games are against division rivals

The Orioles have 20 games remaining and they are all against AL East opponents with 10 at home and 10 on the road. They host New York for four beginning tonight and then go on the road to face Toronto, Boston and Tampa before ending the regular season with a six-game homestand against Toronto and Boston. Adam Jones feels it will be fun. "I do. Because the teams that are ahead of us are in our division, so I think how we play these next X-amount of games will dictate if we're going home or putting ourselves in that gauntlet," he said. After the Rays won at Seattle on Sunday, the Orioles and Cleveland are now two games behind Tampa Bay for the second wild-card spot with New York 2 1/2 games back and Kansas City 3 1/2 out. That is five teams chasing one spot. Has Chris Davis been doing any scoreboard watching lately? "Not really," he said. "It is tough when you are in close games to look at the scoreboard because you have so much in front of you to focus on. We have to take care of our business right now. We can't expect people to lose or other teams to beat the teams we're competing against." In 2012, playing well in the division was a big key to the Orioles strong season. They played .597 ball, going 43-29 vs. the division. This year's club is 27-29, playing .482 ball. Heading into the series against the Yankees, the Orioles have lost four straight AL East series, going 3-8 in their last 11 division games. "They are teams we've been facing all year and teams we are very familiar with," Davis said. "I think it kind of adds to the fun to be honest with you. It also helps knowing if you get a win, you get a game up against a team that is competing against you."