It's hard to convince fans that any loss is less painful than another but from my perspective the kind of defeat the Orioles suffered in Boston last night, a 9-2 drubbing, really is a lot easier to digest.  It was one of those nights when the opposition was hitting on all cylinders and the Orioles were basically out of it with one swing of the bat, the grand slam by Mike Lowell in the fifth.  The positive of this past road trip, when the Orioles went 5-4, was that they could have tanked after a disappointing previous home stand but did not.

Now, they have to reverse their 10-year trend in Interleague play.  The next 15 games are against the National League, six at Camden Yards and nine on the road. As many fans know, the O's have the worst Interleague record in the American League.  The good news is that they start by playing the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have the worst Interleague record in the Major Leagues, just .377 since 1997.

The next two weeks offer a mixed bag. Along with Pittsburgh, Houston and Milwaukee, all teams that have been treading water  like the O's, Baltimore plays the Cubs, who have been hitting great, and the Nationals, who are struggling.  Just posting a positive W-L record over the next two weeks would be continuation of what the Orioles have been trying to do this year -- improve incrementally.