Orioles need to put a deep playoff run over working for AL home field advantage

With just 10 games remaining, the Orioles' pursuit of the best record in the American League and top seed in the playoffs may not be very realistic.

Sure, they'd like to catch and/or pass the Los Angeles Angels for the top record, but they are three games behind with just 10 to play.

To me, the bigger goal now in these final games is setting up the team to make a run at 11 postseason wins and a World Series title rather than pushing to gain one additional home playoff game.

Buck Showalter needs to position his team to make a deep postseason run starting Oct. 2, and if means they sacrifice a game or two the rest of the regular season, so be it.

This won't be spring training. There will be no B team lineups, but everything has to point toward Game 1 of the American League Division Series now. The Orioles have just about wrapped up the No. 2 seed and they are likely going to play the AL Central winner and open at home.

The Orioles went 4-2 this year against the Angels, winning series both at home and on the road. We are getting ahead of ourselves, but if they meet for the AL title, the O's are going to likely have to win some games on the West Coast.

Some players will get some rest, but just enough to freshen them up a bit for the playoff push. The Orioles are playing great ball right now and they'll look to carry some momentum over the last 10 games while also gearing up to put their best foot forward come ALDS time.

More notes on the Orioles:

* With last night's win, the Orioles are 10-6 against Toronto and have clinched the season series. The Orioles are going to win the season series against the other four AL East teams this year. They are 10-6 against Boston, 11-4 versus New York and 12-7 against Tampa Bay.

* The Orioles are 43-23 in division games for a winning percentage of .652. The club record is .678 (61-29) in 1970. The Orioles have won 15 series, lost four and tied two this season in the AL East.

* Jimmy Paredes has hit safely in a season-high six straight and 10 of his last 11 games. Since Aug. 29, six of his last 14 hits have been for extra bases, including four doubles and two home runs. His current six-game hitting streak is a career-high.

* Bud Norris has won his last eight decisions against AL East opponents (over 11 starts) and the O's are 12-1 in his 13 starts against the division this season. In those 13 starts, Norris is 8-1 with a 2.72 ERA and five quality starts. He is now 4-0 with a 2.36 ERA in his six career outings against the Blue Jays.

* The Orioles are 6-1 on this homestand, allowing just 11 runs for an ERA of 1.52. In 65 innings, O's pitchers have given up just 43 hits and 24 walks with 65 strikeouts.