Who is leading the AL East?

Hard as it is to believe, we’re less than three weeks away from the conclusion of the 2023 MLB regular season. The playoff picture is beginning to take shape — although in the American League, things remain pretty wide open. Sure, the Minnesota Twins seem to finally be running away with the AL Central (though that says more about the state of that division than the Twins), but beyond that, the other two divisions could very well go down to the wire. Here we’ll focus on the AL East, where the Rays got off to a historic start but are now trying to play catch-up after a midsummer swoon — and the division’s two traditional powers find themselves at the bottom of the standings.

MLB playoff picture: AL East standings

1. Baltimore Orioles: 91-53
2. Tampa Bay Rays: 89-57 — 3.0 GB
3. Toronto Blue Jays: 80-65 — 11.5 GB
4. Boston Red Sox: 73-72 — 18.5 GB
5. New York Yankees: 73-72 — 18.5 GB

Tampa Bay has played awfully well of late, with seven wins out of 10 entering play on Wednesday ... and yet they’ve made up exactly zero ground, because the O’s have won seven of their last 10. Of course, things could change in a heartbeat: These two teams meet for a massive four-game series at Camden Yards starting Thursday — their final meetings of the season — which will probably go a long way toward deciding this race. It’s also worth noting that the Rays largely have divisional games remaining — four against the O’s, six against Toronto, two against Boston — while Baltimore will face the Astros, Guardians and Nationals before ending the season with four games at home against the Red Sox.