10 teams in hunt go head to head tonight

Four teams are still in the ring.

But in three weeks’ time, only one of them may survive to play in October.

The race between the top four teams in the American League East could hardly be any closer as the season comes down to the final 20 games. Only four games separate the first-place Red Sox from the fourth-place Yankees, and the top four contenders scheduled to play 68 percent of their final 80 remaining games against one another.

The more these familiar foes beat each other up, the easier it will be for teams outside the division to hang around for Wild Card spots. With that in mind, the only sure way for an AL East team to qualify for the postseason may be to go and claim the division title.

The next heavyweight fight in the East will feature the Orioles travelling to Boston, but that’s just one of a handful of divisional rivalry games to keep an eye on as part of a full 15-game Monday schedule. The Cardinals will try to give the Cubs something to think about for October as they begin play in St. Louis. In both Washington and Houston, two Wild Card hopefuls will need to overcome their 2016 bullies to stay in the postseason hunt.

It’s the stretch run of the season, and the only place to catch all the September action is on MLB.TV.

MLB.TV Premium has returned with the same features as last year, and is only $24.99 for the rest of the season. This package has the best value and provides access to more than 400 devices and a free subscription to the MLB.com At Bat Premium app (a $19.99 value). It offers the best picture quality ever — a new 60 frames per second — for supported devices.

Here’s what to watch for today in the Majors (all times ET):

O’s try to make up ground: BAL@BOS, 7:10 p.m. Monday’s opener at Fenway Park will feature two starters trending in opposite directions.

Baltimore probably wasn’t expecting left-hander Wade Miley to come in and completely shut down opposing lineups when he was acquired from the Mariners at the Trade Deadline. But Miley is struggling to even get outs as opposing batters have hit .319 and clubbed six home runs in his first seven starts as an Oriole. Worse yet, Miley isn’t doing what Baltimore brought him in to do — eat innings — as he has averaged less than five innings per start since the trade.

Red Sox starter David Price has done just the opposite since end of July, winning six of his last decisions with a 2.83 ERA while holding hitters to a .219 average. Price has also averaged nearly seven innings per start over that span, and he looks to be rounding into what Boston paid for last offseason — just when his team needs him most.

“I knew it was going to happen,” said Price after he limited the Padres to two earned runs in his most recent start Wednesday. “I knew good things were going to happen to me. I just want to keep it going.”

Appropriately enough, these two teams that are separated by just two games in the standings are tied at six games apiece so far in the season series.

Stat that matters: Hitters have collected 12 homers when swinging on the first pitch …

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