Before Monday night, the Red Sox had gone almost a month since they last played a game against someone from their own division. It had been nearly two months since they played a game against someone from their own division with a winning record.
Chances are, they didn't forget, in that time, how tough the competition is in the American League East.
In the unlikely event they did, they were reminded -- in no uncertain -- terms by the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Red Sox carried a seven-game winning streak across the border, but that did them no good against the Jays, who themselves had been struggling of late, having lost seven of their previous 10.
But the Jays didn't look to be slumping. They pounded three homers and got a dominant start from Kevin Gausman, who has been the Red Sox' kryptonite this season. How impossible has Gausman been against the Sox? He has a 27-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio against them this season, and those two walks weren't issued until Monday night.
It's not accurate to say the Red Sox haven't beaten good teams this season -- they have. They've won series from Houston, St. Louis, and just this past weekend, Cleveland -- playoff contenders all.
But the A.L. East is another beast altogether. Last year, three of the five teams in the division qualified for the postseason. This year, with the field expanded by another team, four teams from the division would reach the playoffs if the season were to end today.
With two starters still sidelined on the IL, the Red Sox were faced with two possibilities for Monday's series opener at Rogers Centre -- a bullpen game, or Connor Seabold. They chose Seabold, who could be forgiven if he had thought long and hard about politely declining the Sox' invitation. To face the Toronto lineup -- now further fortified with the inclusion of Teoscar Hernandez, who was out when the clubs met back in April -- is to know, firsthand, how the Christians felt being fed to the lions.
The Jays are second only to the Yankees in homers among all MLB teams, and proved it by hitting three off Seabold in 4.2 innings, producing five of their seven runs scored on the long ball.
Seabold has some quality pitches -- his changeup was superb Monday night -- though he doesn't possess dominant stuff. His velocity -- with a fastball that sits 91-93 mph -- is adequate, but isn't going to overpower major league hitters. More than anything, because his stuff isn't elite, it's imperative that he not make mistakes.
Monday, he made too many. He walked the first batter he faced, and within eight pitches, found himself trailing 1-0. He later hung a couple of sliders and tried to sneak a fastball up in the zone. All three offerings were hit out of the ballpark.
He was immediately reminded that he wasn't in Worcester anymore.
"You go through a Triple-A lineup,'' he said, "there's maybe three or four guys who can legitimately play in the big leagues. There aren't many holes in that (Toronto) lineup. That's the reality of any major league team.''
That's especially true when it comes to facing teams in the A.L. East.
A cursory look at the standings might lead you to believe that the East isn't that good. After all, only the Yankees have a winning percentage greater than .600. But a closer look reveals that the teams in the East are beating up teams from the other two AL divisions and the NL teams on their schedule. It's having to beat each other that's kept their records relatively modest.
The Red Sox, by example, are 31-14 against the rest of the AL and 4-3 against the NL. The Jays are 24-14 against the AL Central and West. And while the Rays are only .500 against the other two divisions (18-18), they're 10-1 in interleague competition.
"Every team in this division can pitch,'' said Alex Cora, "and every team in this division can hit the ball out of the ballpark. It's going to be a grind. We're going to be banging heads the rest of the season.''
Having enjoyed a respite from the AL East heavyweight for most of the last two months, the next month is a bear. It includes multiple series against the Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays.
By the time that stretch is complete, we'll be in August. By then, the Red Sox will know more about where they stand relative to their rivals.
The gauntlet began Monday night. For the Red Sox, the night served as a bracing slap in the face.