Who's contending and who's pretending in the American League races

The American League East begins the week with four of its teams in contention for October.

Starter Chris Tillman came off the disabled list Sunday and gave the Orioles a lift in a 3-1 road win over the Tigers. The Orioles won two of three from the Tigers in a key series.

Tillman's timing couldn't have been better for the Orioles. Here's a look at other moves and players returning from injury that other teams hope will make a difference in the final weeks:

Boston: Lefty starter David Price is back on track, but the Red Sox bullpen will determine whether they are in the postseason or not. The return of setup man Koji Uehara from the disabled list might help. He was gone for six weeks and but in three September appearances, he's been strong with five strikeouts and no walks in three innings.

Detroit: The Tigers need former National Jordan Zimmermann, returning from the disabled list after a neck injury, down the stretch, but he didn't look good in his first start back Saturday against the Orioles. He retired five of the 14 batters he faced, and says he feels good, but his command has to improve. The Tigers are also having issues in the bullpen. Francisco Rodriguez is the closer, but the setup crew has picked the wrong time to be inconsistent.

Houston: The Astros are barely hanging on, and they have too many pitching problems to be considered a serious contender. Ace starter Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers are on the disabled list. Collin McHugh, Doug Fister and Mike Fiers aren't pitching well. That's too much for the Astros to overcome.

Kansas City: The Royals recovered in August from a seven-win July, but now they are cooling off. They are getting good pitching, but scoring runs is another story. It doesn't help that center fielder Lorenzo Cain is likely out for the season with a sprained left hand.

New York: The Yankees, who have 17 games remaining against the AL East, need lefty starter CC Sabathia to lead the rotation. He slumped in July and August, but he's better in September with a 3.60 ERA in his first two starts. He's 36, so relying on Sabathia is dicey. If not, it's up to pitchers such as rookies Luis Cessa, who won his first four big-league decisions, but gave up three home runs in a loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday, and Bryan Mitchell.

Seattle: The Mariners are hot, but they have a huge hill to climb, as well. Felix Hernandez, 30, has struggled with command all season, and he's not the same pitcher. He pitched into the seventh inning regularly during August and has had one good and one bad start in September. Angel Miranda, who came from Baltimore in the Wade Miley trade, is in the Mariners rotation.

Toronto: Two weeks ago, the Blue Jays looked as if their rotation was going to carry them to a division title. Now they have all kinds of pitching problems. Aaron Sanchez has a blister on his middle right finger and the Blue Jays are trying to monitor his innings. He had four walks in a loss to Boston Sunday and the Blue Jays aren't sure when he'll pitch again. The other bad news is the J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada and R.A. Dickey have not pitched well the last two times through the rotation. But the bullpen is strong.