Red Sox vs. Orioles lineup: Let’s hope the beef is really over

*Update: This post was written before and published after the Sox said the beef was over in the pregame interviews, so take it for what it's worth

Not all sports beefs are created equal. Some are a natural extension of sustained success or the result of one-off incidents, but some of them happen between teams that play often and simply rub each other the wrong way. These beefs are the dumbest, and we step directly into one this evening as the Red Sox (13-11) kick off a four-game series against the tied-for-first place Baltimore Orioles (15-8) at Fenway Park (7:10 p.m., NESN, ESPN).

I have a bad feeling about tonight, and it’s possible I’m being overly dramatic, but there’s something bad in the air between these two teams. This game has been a focal point of the calendar since Zach Britton flapped his mouth about Dustin Pedroia’s tragic inability to “control” other adult humans in the wake of L’affaire Machado, and while I’d love the Sox to be above it all, it just takes another hard slide or pimped home run or dirty look to spark the park when the gas has been leaking this long.

I’ll plan for the worse and hope for the best. Reigning American League Award winner Rick Porcello is on the mound for the Sox, while Dylan Bundy, who dominated Boston earlier in the year, goes for the Orioles. Sandy Leon is in tonight’s game, breaking a three-game streak of identical lineups, but outside of switching for Vazquez it’s the new status quo: