The American League East often is called the toughest division.

Friday, however, the AL West dominated the East with four shutouts.

The A’s blanked the Yankees 2-0, the Mariners beat the Jays 4-0, the Rangers pounded the first-place Red Sox 7-0 and the Angels limited the Orioles to just three hits in a 3-0 win.

STATS Inc. says it’s the first time one division shut out another four times in a day since 1981 and third time ever since divisional play started in 1969. The NL West did it to the NL East on May 12, 1981, and the AL East did it to the AL West on June 7, 1969.

We’ll see how things turn out tonight.

Chances are it won’t happen again for a long time.

– Rick Green

Nolan Reimold, a Kennedy Catholic graduate, avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles, the team’s website reported Friday night.

The Baltimore Sun’s Dan Connolly reported the contract was worth $1 million.

Reimold was a second-round draft pick in 2005 out of Bowling Green.

The outfielder hit .313 with five home runs and 10 RBIs in limited action for the Orioles last season. He spent most of the year on the disabled list with a herniated disk in his neck, according to the team’s site.

– Rick Green (follow me on Twitter @ETNrgreen)

Orioles 2, Yankees 1, 13 innings
NEW YORK — J.J. Hardy hit an RBI double in the 13th inning and the Baltimore Orioles bounced back from a demoralizing loss to outlast the New York Yankees 2-1 late tonight, forcing a deciding Game 5 in the AL Division Series.
After splitting 22 games this year, it all comes down this: a winner-take-all for a spot in the AL Championship Series.
Game 1 winner CC Sabathia is set to pitch the deciding game for the Yankees. Orioles manager Buck Showalter had not announced his starter.
Eric Chavez, pinch-hitting for Alex Rodriguez, lined out to end the game shortly after midnight.
The Orioles were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position until Hardy doubled off David Phelps with one out to score Manny Machado.

– Associated Press

Athletics 4, Tigers 3
OAKLAND, Calif. — Seth Smith hit a game-tying two-run double off Detroit closer Jose Valverde in the ninth inning and Coco Crisp capped Oakland’s most dramatic comeback yet with an RBI single as the Athletics staved off elimination for a second straight night with a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers in Game 4 of the AL Division Series Wednesday.
The A’s rode 14 walkoff wins in the regular season to an improbable AL West title. Those paled in comparison to No. 15, which set up a win-or-go-home Game 5 against Justin Verlander and the Tigers.
Josh Reddick started the rally with a single just under the glove of diving second baseman Omar Infante. Josh Donaldson followed with a double off the wall in left-center and both runners scored on Smith’s double. Two outs later, Crisp lined a single to right and Smith scored easily when Avisail Garcia couldn’t handle the ball.

– Associated Press

Yankees 3, Orioles 2, 12 innings
NEW YORK —  Raul Ibanez lined a ninth-inning home run while pinch hitting for slumping Alex Rodriguez, then hit a leadoff homer in the 12th, giving the New York Yankees a stunning 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles tonight for a 2-1 lead in their AL Division Series.
Batting for baseball’s highest-paid player, Ibanez homered to right-center with one out in the ninth inning off Baltimore closer Jim Johnson to tie it at 2. He then hit the first pitch from Brian Matusz leading off the 12th.
Phil Hughes will start for the Yankees Thursday night in Game 4 of the best-of-five series. Chris Tillman or Joe Saunders will start for Baltimore.

– Associated Press

The Arizona Fall League begins Tuesday, with four players from the 2012 Erie SeaWolves scheduled to compete for the Mesa Solar Sox.

Mesa, one of six teams in the league, will debut with a game at the Salt River Rafters. Mesa’s roster consists of minor league prospects from the Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Outfielder Nick Castellanos, catcher James McCann and relief pitchers Tyler Clark and Michael Morrison are players for the Solar Sox who appeared in all or portions of Erie’s recently completed Eastern League season. Other former SeaWolves on Mesa’s roster are pitchers Luke Putkonen and Matt Hoffman.

Aaron Westlake, a first base prospect with Single-A West Michigan, rounds out Detroit’s representatives.

– Mike Copper

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A’s vs. Tigers

How can you stop Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera or Prince Fielder?

I’m not sure Oakland can.

The A’s have been on quite a roll, but “Moneyball” doesn’t usually translate into postseason success.

While having Oakland advance would be nice, it’s too hard to ignore the Tigers.

They have the hitting and pitching to win a short series.

The pick: Tigers in five.

Yankees vs. Orioles

In April, not many people would have picked the Orioles to have a winning record.

Here they are in October facing the Yankees in the playoffs after beating the Texas Rangers.

I don’t see them slowing down the Yankees.

The joy ride ends.

The pick: Yankees in four.

Reds vs. Giants

San Francisco emerged from the NL West, but I’m not sold on their rotation after Matt Cain.

The Reds? Yeah, I like everything about them.

They can hit. They can pitch. They have the relievers to shut down the opposition.

They can go a long way, too.

The pick: Reds in four

Nationals vs. Cardinals

Where are you Stephen Strasburg?

The Nationals have their ace shut down for the season, but they still have some live arms remaining.

I know they’re new to the postseason, but they should have enough to beat the Cardinals.

The pick: Nationals in five.

Agree? Disagree? Post them in the comments below.

– Rick Green

The Akron Aeros forced a fifth and deciding game in their Eastern League playoff series against the Bowie Baysox Saturday.

Akron, the Western Division champion, edged the wild-card Baysox 2-1 at Canal Park. The Aeros will have the chance to rally from an 0-2 series defecit if they can beat Bowie in Sunday’s 7:05 p.m. finale.

Trenton remained up 2-1 in its Eastern Division series against Reading when Saturday’s fourth game was postponed by poor weather. The scheduled first pitch for Sunday’s game wasn’t immediately listed by the league.

– Mike Copper

Friday night saw Akron remain alive in its best-of-five Eastern League playoff series against Bowie, while Trenton moved to the brink of eliminating Reading.

The Aeros scored all of their runs in the bottom of the sixth inning of a 4-3 Western Division series victory at Canal Park. The wild-card Baysox still maintain a 2-1 series advantage going into Saturday’s fourth game.

The Thunder scored twice in the bottom of the eighth for their 3-1 Eastern Division win over the Phillies at Waterfront Park. The division titlists can advance to next week’s championship round with a third victory.

– Mike Copper

The Bowie Baysox are one game away from sweeping their Western Division final against Akron, while Trenton evened its Eastern Division series vs. Reading after Thursday’s Eastern League playoff action.

Caleb Joseph had a solo home run for one of his three hits in Bowie’s 7-5 victory over the Aeros at Prince George’s Stadium. Akron must sweep the series’ last three games at Canal Park to advance to next week’s championship series.

Trenton salvaged a split at FirstEnergy Stadium with its 4-1 victory over the Phillies. Addison Maruszak totaled two hits, two runs scored and a homer for the New Jersey franchise, which hosts that series’ remaining three games at Waterfront Park.

– Mike Copper