AL East Standings - Baltimore Orioles

Rise and shine, Baltimore. Our Orioles are in first place in the American League East. Feels great, doesn’t it?

With rain in the forecast, Rangers manager Ron Washington scratched ace Yu Darvish and the O’s were able to instead face Scott Baker. They took advantage, won 5-2 and with the Blue Jays 4-1 loss to the A’s managed to take over the top of the division.

Professional Hitter Steve Pearce recorded a career high four hits, including two doubles, and drove in two. The Orioles even managed to pick up a win without a homer! They had previously posted six straight multi-home run games.

The O’s have won four straight, have outscored their opponents by 20 runs this season and increased their playoff odds to 48.3 percent according to ESPN.com

Now it’s on to Boston to face a slumping Red Sox lineup. The defending champions were just swept in Beantown by the Chicago Cubs.

Is this a turning point in the season for the O’s? It sure could be. Adam Jones told ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick he’s a fan of how this team in constructed:

“I like this team,” Jones said. “I like the balance we’ve got, and I like the swag. We can always add a little bit more arrogance. That’s what I like about Oakland. Nobody knows them. But they have that little arrogance that says, ‘We’re glad you don’t know us. But you’re about to.’ I see that coming with us.”