Orioles series has finally arrived, though the drama is not as thick as it could have been — not that the Yankees are complaining.

That's against varying degrees of Athletics, from "scrappy upstarts" to "bearded AL West contenders" to "straight-up tanking and stripped for parts." The Yankees lose to any and all of them in this ballpark.

Even in a time where there are far more second- and third-place finishers who qualify for playoff berths, first place still says something.

The last 15 games put the Yankees in prime position. Locked in a divisional dogfight for most of the season, the Yankees managed to finally create some distance between themselves and the Orioles over the past two-plus weeks with five consecutive series victories.