The Orioles' 2024 regular season will come to an end this weekend before they begin the Wild Card Series on Tuesday, they hope at home.

The Orioles (88-71) need one more win or a Tigers loss to clinch the top Wild Card spot as the No. 4 seed in the six-team playoff field in the American League.

Kansas City and Detroit (both 85-74) could clinch playoff spots tonight. The Royals would clinch with a win in Atlanta or a Twins loss. The Tigers would clinch with a win versus the White Sox or a Twins loss.

Minnesota's only chance to make it is to sweep Baltimore and then have either Kansas City or Detroit get swept.

Should the Orioles lockdown the fourth seed, they then await to find out which club they would play. Kansas City holds the tiebreaker over Detroit.

MINNEAPOLIS – Here we go again.

An Orioles win tonight clinches the home Wild Card, or they’d need the Tigers to lose to the White Sox.

Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter with Ryan Mountcastle at first base. Jordan Westburg gets another start at second base, and he’s batting second.

Cade Povich is making his first career appearance against the team that drafted him in 2021. He’s posted a 3.27 ERA and 0.955 WHIP this month in four starts totaling 22 innings, and he’s struck out 30 batters. Opponents are batting .175/.241/.363.

Twenty-six of Anthony Santander’s 77 hits on the road this season are home runs (33.8 percent), the highest percentage by an Oriole with a minimum 75 hits since Brady Anderson’s 35.2 in 1996 per STATS.

NEW YORK – The Orioles know who’s starting the first game of the Twins series. The rest is dependent on “what happens,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

Rookie left-hander Cade Povich gets the ball at Target Field. Albert Suárez and Dean Kremer are lined up for the last two games, but they might not matter.

A win tonight secures the first Wild Card. A Yankees win eliminates the Orioles in the division race, but they could clinch the No. 4 playoff spot after Friday.

A “bullpen game” on Sunday isn’t ideal with a possible Game 1 two days later. A possible solution is calling up a pitcher to handle bulk innings and optioning him afterward. Trevor Rogers and Chayce McDermott fit the description and there are a few others.

Another pitcher would need to be optioned to make room, and he wouldn’t be eligible to return unless as an injury replacement until the Championship Series.

The baseball math can’t be manipulated tonight to give the Orioles a playoff-clinching scenario. It only worked if they won.

Cade Povich held the Tigers to two runs for the second time in less than a week and the Orioles rallied for two in the ninth to send the game into extras, but the Tigers scored twice against Yennier Cano in the 10th and won 6-4 before an announced crowd of 39,647 at Camden Yards.

An Orioles win coupled with a Mariners loss tonight would have delivered back-to-back postseason berths for the first time since 1996-97. Now, we wait a little longer.

A possible alternative is clinching in their final home game of the regular season. Otherwise, they must do it on a trip that takes them to New York and Minnesota.

The Orioles are 86-69 and in danger of losing their fifth series in a row.

If you didn't think a team could erase a magic number of three in one day, you are wrong. The Orioles begin today with a magic number of three to wrap up a 2024 MLB playoff spot. They can get there with a win over Detroit this afternoon and a loss by Seattle tonight at 7:05 p.m.

A potential Clinchmas is here for an Orioles team that heading into Thursday's game having lost five of six, eight of 10 and nine of the last 12 games and was 26-30 in the second half.

The Orioles (86-68) take the field today with eight games remaining. They are four games behind New York for the American League East lead and four ahead of Kansas City for the No. 1 AL wild-card spot. If the O's wrap up the No. 1 wild-card berth, should they not win the AL East, they will host all games in the best two-of-three wild-card playoff round beginning on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

The Orioles hit a season-best five home runs last night in beating a hot Detroit team 7-1. The Tigers (80-74) entered the night having won four in a row, nine of 11 and 18 of 25. And since Aug. 11 Detroit was 25-10, best in the majors in that span.

But Anthony Santander hit his 43rd home run while Colton Cowser and James McCann hit two homers each. It was Cowser's second career multi-homer game and McCann's third.

Cedric Mullins is back in the Orioles’ lineup today, playing center field and batting second.

Mullins took early batting practice on the field this afternoon with head athletic trainer Brian Ebel watching and also ran the bases. Mullins wasn’t available last night due to neck soreness caused by his collision Thursday with right fielder Austin Slater.

The Orioles selected outfielder Daniel Johnson’s contract to provide a left-handed bat for the outfield in case Mullins couldn’t play. Terrin Vavra is on the 24-hour taxi squad.

Ramón Urías wasn’t reinstated today from the 15-day injured list.

Heston Kjerstad is the designated hitter. Jackson Holliday is playing second base. Colton Cowser is the cleanup hitter.

DETROIT – As the Orioles offense continues to struggle and the team can’t seem to find a spark or any answers right now to turn it, the Orioles are probably still secure to make the playoffs.

Probably.

But each loss makes it harder to win a second straight American League East title and each loss gives Kansas City the chance to gain ground on the Orioles for the top AL wild card spot. If the season ended today, the Orioles would host the Royals in that best two-of-three series. But a few more losses could send the O’s on the road for that.

The O’s Adley Rutschman believes the Orioles can still do great things and said so after Sunday's game. But it’s getting harder to believe that when the team has now lost three series in a row at such a critical time. They went 1-2 each versus Tampa Bay, Boston and Detroit.

Rutschman, whose two-run homer yesterday accounted for the only O's runs in a 4-2 loss, was asked if it was hard to keep the faith and stay upbeat with the losses mounting?

DETROIT – An O’s starter pitched well, but got little or no run support. A recurring theme in Birdland a lot lately.

Facing a traditional starter – not an opener – was not something that helped the struggling Orioles offense today.

They saw Detroit right-hander Keider Montero. And while his 4.88 ERA was not impressive, his last outing was. He pitched a three-hit shutout Tuesday on 96 pitches versus Colorado.

Today, he didn’t get that deep in the game, but the O’s could not score off him either.

They finally got some offense, but it proved too little and too late today.

DETROIT - They lost Friday's game 1-0 at Comerica Park. And, behind right-hander Corbin Burnes, the Orioles beat the Tigers 4-2 Saturday night. Today they try to end this series and road trip on a winning note. 

At 84-65, they begin play two games back of the Yankees for the American League East lead and two games up on the Royals for the top AL wild-card spot. The Orioles went 4-2 against the Royals this year, so should the teams tie for a playoff spot, the O's hold the tiebreaker and will get the higher seed.

Even in winning last night, the Orioles have lost five of their past seven and six of nine games. They are 26-27 since the All-Star break and 31-34 since July 1.

The Orioles are 1-1 versus the Tigers and the teams play again next weekend in Baltimore. The Orioles are 17-8 (.680) versus AL Central teams, their best win percentage this year against any division.

In the two games this series, Baltimore pitchers have allowed just three runs. Over the past four games, the O's team ERA is 2.04.

BOSTON – Cedric Mullins broke hard on Jarren Duran’s line drive to right-center field, went into full extension on his dive and made a remarkable catch. Anthony Santander raised his fist after Mullins crashed to the ground. Cade Povich raised his cap in appreciation.

Three pitches later, Mullins raced back to the center field warning track, slowed and watched Rob Refsnyder’s ball land in the seats for a two-run homer after Rafael Devers singled.

The third pitch thrown to Tyler O’Neill was 110.1 mph off the bat and launched at 41 degrees to clear the left field wall. The Red Sox went back-to-back against Povich in his 13^th major league start and first at Fenway Park, which can be downright cruel to left-handed pitchers. A higher level of experience isn’t always a shield.

The Orioles grabbed a quick lead, let go almost as fast and began an important series in Boston with a 12-3 loss before an announced crowd of 30,600.

Santander drove in all three runs, the last on his 40^th home run, launched against Josh Winckowski leading off the seventh inning. He’s the eighth Orioles player to reach that mark, the first since Mark Trumbo in 2016, and it’s the ninth occurrence. Chris Davis did it twice. Santander also is the first switch-hitter in the majors with 40 since Carlos Beltran and Lance Berkman in 2006.

In their search for more runs, which they obviously hope lead to more wins, the Orioles are in Boston tonight. They play a three-game series at Fenway Park to begin their penultimate road trip of the season.

They play there remembering that they swept a series at Boston in mid-April, scoring 23 runs on 31 hits. In that set, they were 15-for-37 (.405) with runners in scoring position.

But over their past four games, the Orioles scored one, two, one and zero runs. They lost 2-0 to the Rays on Sunday to lose that series and suffer their sixth shutout. The Orioles have 22 hits in the past four games, batting .179 with a .502 OPS as they went 1-for-20 with runners in scoring position.

At 82-62 (.569), the Orioles have the second-best record in the American League and fifth-best in the majors. They begin play tonight a half-game out of first place in the AL East with 18 games remaining in the regular season.

The Orioles ended the year going 9-4 versus the Rays and the are 29-17 in division games.

BOSTON – Major League Baseball announced today that catcher James McCann is the Orioles’ nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, which is presented annually to the player who “best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”

The Orioles will recognize McCann in a special on-field ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 21.

The following comes from the club’s press release:

“Since joining the Orioles prior to the 2023 season, McCann has emerged as a cornerstone of community support in Baltimore, earning him a nomination for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award. His unwavering dedication to community service is a family affair, with McCann, his wife Jessica, and their twin boys actively contributing to their communities year-round. The McCann family donated 50 pairs of shoes to Church of the City’s Wrap Around Closet in Nashville, Tenn. supporting children in foster care.

“Earlier this season, the Orioles announced their adoption of Harlem Park Elementary Middle School, aiming to foster a lasting relationship and support students from pre-k all the way through their entry into the workforce. McCann eagerly embraced this partnership, actively engaging with Harlem Park students and staff at Friday home game batting practices, proudly donning a Harlem Park-branded t-shirt. His involvement extended to the classroom as well, where he visited PE classes to teach baseball skills and inspire students to pursue their dreams with perseverance. To further support Harlem Park, McCann and Jessica provided Harlem Park students with essential items such as backpacks, clothing, and shoes for the new school year, underscoring their dedication to fostering the growth and success of Baltimore’s youth.

The Orioles can envision a pitching staff that returns Grayson Rodriguez to the rotation and Danny Coulombe and Jacob Webb to the bullpen. Like “trade deadline 2.0,” as pitching coach Drew French called it yesterday. An apt description.

“Acquisitions by reinstatement from the IL,” he said, maintaining his roll.

But the club can’t simply count on additions to subtract the entirety of its arm issues.

Craig Kimbrel retired the first two batters faced in the ninth inning Saturday afternoon and surrendered another run on Jonny DeLuca’s triple into left-center field and a wild pitch. He’s been scored upon in nine of his last 17 appearances, with 15 earned runs (17 total), 14 walks and 18 hits over 16 1/3 innings.

Kimbrel won’t close again unless other options are drained, and the pool of candidates deepens with Coulombe and Webb returning. But French offered some encouraging words yesterday regarding Kimbrel’s progress, which isn’t necessarily evident on the stat sheet.

A team can’t lose 109 times by accident. Flukes and bad luck don’t explain three streaks of 11 or more defeats in a season and 42 in the last 46 games.

The White Sox are exceptionally bad, and the Orioles, who absorbed plenty of beatings in their rebuild phase, aren’t giving an ounce of sympathy.

No one felt sorry for them. When an opponent is down, you jump on it with both feet.

The Orioles came off the top rope tonight.

They collected three doubles among the first four batters to face Chicago rookie Nick Nastrini and tallied seven runs by the second. Their own first-year starter, Cade Povich, struck out 10 batters in 7 1/3 scoreless innings, both career highs, in a 9-0 victory before an announced crowd of 15,108 at Camden Yards.

LOS ANGELES – In the early innings tonight, Orioles lefty Cade Povich was getting into and out of trouble. But he could not keep escaping damage.

The Dodgers scored four off him in the last of the fourth to open a 5-0 lead. They beat the Orioles 6-3 to take two of three in this series pitting two of baseball’s best clubs against each other.

Los Angeles (80-54) becomes the first team in the majors to hit the 80-win mark and has won eight of 10, 14 of 19 and 17 of its last 24.

The Dodgers are 5-0 this year in series versus American League East teams, going 11-4 over 15 games.

At 77-58, the Orioles have lost three of four and eight of 13 games. They end a two-series stretch versus the first-place Astros and Dodgers going 3-4. And they are now 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees, who had tonight off.

LOS ANGELES – With one uplifting win followed by a disappointing loss for the Orioles in this series, the Birds and Dodgers play the rubber match game tonight at Dodger Stadium.

The first two games featured big and loud crowds as the clubs have seen 105,672 fans this series.

The Orioles (77-57) could have tied for first place in the American League East but lost 6-4 last night. They have lost two of three, four of seven and seven of the last 12 games. They are 8-12 all-time versus the Dodgers and 3-5 at Dodger Stadium, where the Orioles won the first two games of the 1966 World Series.

In Game 2 of that World Series, current O’s broadcaster Jim Palmer pitched a four-hitter in a 6-0 victory where he got the win and Sandy Koufax took the loss. Palmer was just 20 and Koufax had posted an ERA of 1.73 during the season. That turned out to be the last game for Koufax, who retired following the World Series.

But back to present day ...

LOS ANGELES – The Orioles and Dodgers have split the first two games of this three-game series and tonight's winner will take the series at Dodger Stadium.

Los Angeles (79-54, .594) has the best record in the major leagues and has won seven of nine, 13 of 18 and 16 of its last 23 games. In the 23 games, the Dodgers are scoring 5.1 runs per game with a team ERA of 3.19.

The Dodgers are 44-24 at home and 26-14 versus American League teams.

The O's lineup tonight is a look we've seen a lot versus right-handers with Colton Cowser leading off, Adley Rutschman catching and Gunnar Henderson at shortstop. Eloy Jiménez is the designated hitter and Cedric Mullins is back in center field and batting seventh.

The Orioles (77-57) begin play today one game behind the Yankees, who are off, for the AL East lead with 28 games remaining. The two games this series have been decided by three total runs. The O's have played a lot of close games lately, with seven of their past 10 decided by one or two runs. They are 4-3 in those contests.

The Orioles were six outs away from losing more ground in the American League East.

Anthony Santander made it shake at Camden Yards.

Santander hit a grand slam off Astros reliever Bryan Abreu in the eighth inning to give the Orioles a thrilling 7-5 win before an announced Gunnar Henderson bobblehead crowd of 39,578.

Santander’s 38^th home run followed singles by Colton Cowser and Adley Rutschman and a comebacker from Henderson that enticed Abreu to try for the out at third base.

Cowser was safe, the crowd stayed on its feet and Santander sent it into a frenzy with his fourth career slam and second this year.

While the Orioles wonder about getting some of their eight pitchers on the injured list back later this season, their current biggest worry might be the offense.

That offense has produced just three hits in back-to-back games with three runs in those two games. Batters went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

The Astros pitched their ninth shutout of the year last night in a 6-0 win over the Orioles, handing the O’s their fifth shutout of 2024.

At 74-55, the Orioles have lost two in a row, three of four, five of seven and seven of the last 11. Baltimore, now 1 1/2 games out in the American League East, is 16-17 in the second half. The 1 1/2-game margin is the team's largest deficit in the division since being two games back of New York following a loss on June 25 in Cleveland.

Over the past six games, the Orioles have scored 20 runs, with nine coming in one game. In that span, the team is batting .167/.245/.323/.568 and has gone 2-for-27 with runners in scoring position. They have five hits or less in four of those games and three or less in three of them.

Oriole first baseman Ryan Mountcastle could play later tonight depending on how he reacts to treatments on his sore wrist.

Mountcastle was removed from last night’s game in the top of the ninth inning. Ryan O’Hearn switched from right field to first base and Austin Slater batted in Mountcastle’s spot in the bottom of the ninth.

Manager Brandon Hyde said afterward that the wrist gradually became more sore after Mountcastle’s slide into second base on a double in the second inning – one of only three hits for the Orioles.

“He’s better today, it’s a little better,” Hyde said. “He’s getting treatment right now. He’s going to get treatment up until game time, so we’ll see if he’s available or not. It got pretty sore as the game went on last night but it’s a little bit better today.”

The offense needs a boost. Mountcastle hasn’t homered since July 29 and he’s batting .225/.257/.310 this month in 19 games but he has hits in 11 of his last 17, including three on Aug. 10 and two on the 13^th, 16^th and 19^th.