It’s a formula for success in baseball. If you want to have a good season, you need to start by beating the teams in your division. They’re the ones you play the most, and the ones you need to get by.
This season, division games have been a formidable hurdle for the Orioles. Whenever the Birds have struggled, a series with a rival has seemed to kick start the skid. Or add to it. Or somehow complicate an already challenging situation.
So far, the Orioles’ record against the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays — they haven’t played Toronto yet — has exemplified this.