BOSTON — This is just a projection. So don’t take it to Vegas. Use it for amusement purposes only.
But if the Orioles win this afternoon at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox, their magic number for clinching their first American League East crown since 1997 will be at least at eight.
What that means is that any combination of the Orioles’ wins and the losses by the second-place team that equal eight will give the Orioles the division title.
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Eight has some significance — especially if it is the New York Yankees that are in second place for the majority of the upcoming week. As of Wednesday morning, the Toronto Blue Jays (75-69) are in second place in the AL East, 10 games behind the Orioles (85-59) with 18 games to play. The Yankees (73-69) fell to third place Tuesday night and are now 11 games behind the Orioles.
Starting with a split-doubleheader Friday, the Orioles and the Yankees play each other for four games through Sunday. If the Orioles head into that series with a magic number of eight or less over New York and then sweep the Yankees, it will be a swing of eight.
And that means the Orioles officially will have eliminated New York from winning the division crown. Depending on what the Blue Jays do against the Tampa Bay Rays during that time, the Orioles could clinch completely by the end of the weekend.
Yes, this is projecting. Bad things could happen in the next week. But if the Orioles simply hold serve, they should end up with the division crown soon enough.
But you’d have to imagine it would be doubly sweet for the recently energized fan base to have it done against the Yankees this weekend.
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