This series between the Orioles and Yankees has long been on the calendar as a potential division showdown, but even though the division hasn’t been officially decided yet, it’s about to happen.

The Orioles are six games behind the Yankees, with six games left to play. That means that if the Yankees win one more game, the season is over. The only way to finish the season with the Orioles atop the AL East is if they win all of their remaining games while the Yankees lose all of their remaining games.

The Orioles will lose the division in the next few days. But they can secure a playoff spot today if they win and the Minnesota Twins or Kansas City Royals lose. Unfortunately, the Twins play the Marlins, whose next loss will be their 100th, and the Royals play the Nationals.

For most of the season, both the Orioles and Yankees were languishing, and neither team seemed interested in taking control of the division. But while the Orioles continued to tread water, the Yankees finally started to get their act together. As recently as September 6, the Orioles were in first place. Since then, the Orioles have gone 4-10, while the Yankees have gone 11-4. That will turn the tables around real quick. (That 4-10 is the same record the White Sox set with 120 losses during the same period.)

The Yankees’ offense continues to be powered by two stars: Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. Judge had a 16-game home run streak through early September, which is about 700 games for a normal baseball player. Yet he leads the league in nearly every offensive category. He doesn’t lead in batting average, which is still at .323. There are six games left in the season, and he has an incredible OPS+ of 221. He also leads the league in grounding in double plays! Take that, Aaron.

Game 1: Tuesday, September 24, 7:05 p.m. – MASN, YES, TBS (out of market)

Starters: RHP Dean Kremer (7-10, 4.19 ERA, 120 K) vs. RHP Clarke Schmidt (5-4, 2.37 ERA, 80 K)

Clark Schmidt spent most of this season on the injured list after suffering a strained right latissimus dorsi on May 26. He’s been back since the beginning of the month and will make his fourth start of September tonight. He’s been effective since his return, posting a 1.76 ERA, but hasn’t played in long games.

But he has increased his pitching rate during those three starts and can probably pitch as long as the Orioles’ batters allow him to.

Dean Kremer has just kept going and doing Dean things. His starts are mostly good, but there are a few duds. His last start was one of those duds against the Giants. This will be his third start against the Yankees this year. The first two had varying degrees of success. The first in April was a two-run, seven-inning start, although he did get four walks. The second in July saw Kremer allow two runs in 4.2 innings.

Game 2: Wednesday, September 25, 7:05 p.m. – MASN, JA

Starter: RHP Zach Eflin (10-9, 3.53 ERA, 133 K) vs. LHP Nestor Cortes (9-10, 3.77 ERA, 162 K)

In his last eight starts, Cortes has allowed one run or less in six innings. That’s pretty good. In the other two, he’s allowed 11 runs in 8.2 innings. We should hope for that kind of start, but I wouldn’t put any money on it.

Cortes faced the Orioles twice in the first half. He allowed four runs in six innings in April and threw six scoreless innings in June. This season, Cortes has held left-handers to a hitting line of .204/.248/.282, which is not good news for the Orioles. He’s been much better at home, too.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say the Orioles would be lost without Zach Eflin. Since joining the Orioles, Eflin has posted a 2.31 ERA in eight starts. This season, he’s faced the Yankees three times in his time with the Rays, but he’s never pitched against them as an Oriole. In those three starts, he’s held them to a 2.50 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 18 innings. That’s not bad.

Game 3: Thursday, September 26, 7:05 p.m. – MASN, YES, MLB Network (out of market)

Starter: RHP Corbin Burnes (15-8, 2.95 ERA, 172 K) vs. RHP Gerrit Cole (7-5, 3.67 ERA, 94 K)

This is your top pitchers’ matchup, friends. It might also be Corbin Burnes’ last regular season start as a member of the Orioles. I really enjoyed having him there. After a few struggles in August, Burnes has come back strong in his last five starts, including a stellar start against the Tigers last Friday.

Gerrit Cole’s ERA is his worst since 2017, but considering it’s still only 3.67, that’s not really exciting. Cole missed much of the season with elbow inflammation, but has still played against the Orioles twice. In June, Cole allowed two runs in four innings to the Orioles. In July, he was better, with one run in six innings. Since the beginning of August, he’s had just one bad start, a six-run flop against the Red Sox on Sept. 14.