Surging Red Sox Sweep Orioles; Tigers Edge into Wild Card Contention

The Boston Red Sox are pulling away from the competition in the American League East race. The Red Sox swept a three game series from the Baltimore Orioles over September 20th-22nd to pull into a 5 ½ game lead over second place Toronto. It was the eighth win in a row for the Red Sox, who are getting hot at the right time.

The Red Sox have nine games left, including three at home with Toronto to close out the regular season, but will probably wrap up the A.L East crown before then. The series may be more important to the Blue Jays, who have a narrow lead in the Wild Card race. The Orioles have lost four in row and have been passed in the race for the second Wild Card by the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers swept a doubleheader from the Minnesota Twins while the Orioles were losing, and at 82-70, have a half game lead over Baltimore (82-71). The Tigers were helped in Game 1 by this long home run by Justin Upton, who has gotten hot down the stretch after a forgettable first half of the season:

The Orioles will host Arizona for three games over the weekend, before going to Toronto for what could be an important series for both teams. Detroit hosts Kansas City for three games, then will have a big four game series at home against the A. L. Central leading Cleveland Indians. The Indians have been a nightmare for Detroit this season; the Tigers have lost 13 of 15 games between the two. Detroit will close out the regular season with a three game set at Atlanta. The Braves (62-91) have the worst record in the National League. The Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, and New York Yankees also are still in the Wild Card mix.