BALTIMORE (AP) — Zach Eflin and two relievers combined on a two-hitter, Brandon Lowe and Harold Ramírez homered, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-1 on Friday night to pull into a virtual tie atop the AL East.

Source: https://www.mymotherlode.com/sports/baseball-game-stories/3228476/zach-eflin-and-the-rays-limit-the-orioles-to-2-hits-win-7-1-to-pull-even-in-al-east.html

Baltimore entered with a two-game lead over Tampa Bay atop the AL East.

Source: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/sports-news/2023/08/with-5-4-win-over-astros-orioles-stay-sweep-less-before-heading-to-seattle/

Baltimore is 45-27 — tied for the second-best record in the AL — and is four games back of the Rays (51-25) for first place in the AL East.

Source: https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/06/20/orioles-bats-build-early-lead-bullpen-barely-holds-on-in-8-6-win-over-rays/

Carrying over in the AL East, the Blue Jays are showing signs that they could be a sleeper team come playoff time.

Source: https://nesn.com/bets/2023/08/4-under-the-radar-world-series-contenders/

That week Cashman said the team stunk, describing the team as “bad as you can be” and that was with his team holding a 40-38 record and a 7 1/2 game deficit behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/larryfleisher/2023/05/03/as-new-york-yankees-cope-with-injuries-gm-brian-cashman-evaluates-the-situation/

The AL East is a collective 9-1 towards Oakland (the lone loss was by Baltimore).

Source: https://basquiatstrings.co.uk/the-mets-face-some-season-altering-decisions-on-how-far-to-go-with-their-rookies-bt-news

The franchise played in the AL East for the first three seasons of divisional play while in D.C., then moved to the AL West beginning with their move to the Lone Star State in 1972.

Source: https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/world-series-eight-teams-that-have-never-won

The new balanced schedule means the teams in the AL East will beat up each other less often than in previous years.

Source: https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/05/08/orioles-reset-the-braves-series-was-just-an-appetizer-baltimores-schedule-is-about-to-get-much-harder-analysis/

The New York Yankees, a fellow member of the AL East, topped the rankings at $7.1 billion, with the Boston Red Sox in third at $4.5 billion.

Source: https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/09/23/analysis-as-orioles-player-spending-plunged-from-pre-pandemic-levels-team-income-and-value-soared/

The Rays boast a plus-150 run differential — more than 130 runs better than any other AL East team — but the rest of the division isn't about to drop off.

Source: https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/mlb-power-rankings-which-division-races-are-most-exciting

With what the top three in the AL East look to be and the top two in the West look to be, wildcard spots may be hard to come by for the remedial class in the Central.

Source: https://deadspin.com/white-sox-pedro-grifol-2023-preview-1850248393