MINNEAPOLIS – The Orioles finally know their opponent for the Wild Card series. The preparation will get a lot easier.

The Royals clinched the No. 5 seed and will come to Camden Yards for Tuesday’s Game 1, setting up a rematch of the 2014 Championship Series that began the Orioles' eight-game playoff losing streak. Left-hander Cole Ragans will start. The Tigers did the unthinkable and lost to the White Sox again.

The Orioles must finalize their roster and Albert Suarez’s presumed spot might have closed. He wasn’t shortened today in his start, throwing 71 pitches in six innings in a 6-2 victory over the Twins at Target Field.

Rookie left-hander Cade Povich is making it, according to a source, and Suárez could be held back until the Division Series. The Orioles can wait until Tuesday morning to submit their roster.

Suárez could start Game 1 of the ALDS on an extra day of rest if the Orioles advance. Their plans for him aren’t confirmed but seemed to gain clarity.

The Orioles put a wrap on their 2024 regular season today as they play at Minnesota looking to complete a three-game sweep over the Twins.

The Orioles (90-71) have won by 7-2 and 9-2 in the first two games of their series at Minnesota that they can sweep today. Each game the O’s were scored on in the ninth inning as they failed to complete what would have been their 10^th shutout.

Today the Orioles are looking for their sixth series sweep of three or more games this season and they already have one against Minnesota.

The O’s swept three at Boston from April 9-11 and three at home versus Minnesota from April 15-17. They took three at Cincinnati from May 3-5. Their past two series sweeps are four-game sweeps at the Chicago White Sox May 23-26 and at Tampa Bay from June 7-10.

The O’s just had a chance to sweep the Yankees in New York on Thursday, but they lost 10-1. So today they could get their sweep and conclude a 5-1 road trip.

MINNEAPOLIS – The Orioles recalled reliever Colin Selby this morning and designated left-hander Tucker Davidson for assignment after he tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings last night.

Selby is another fresh arm for the bullpen, with manager Brandon Hyde prepping his other relievers for availability in Game 1 of Tuesday’s Wild Card game.

Selby appeared in two games with the Orioles in August and didn’t allow a run or hit in three innings. He struck out four batters.

The Orioles haven’t committed to their Game 2 starter.

Albert Suárez gets today’s start, with uncertainty over how long he’ll pitch. Hyde was non-committal yesterday about possibly shortening Suárez.

With their 9-2 win over the Minnesota Twins Saturday night, the Orioles improved their record to 90-71 with one game to play.

The Birds have won four of five and six of the last nine games as they are playing better with the playoffs starting Tuesday.

A win today and they would finish 33-33 in the second half.

By securing win No. 90, this O’s team is now tied for the 20^th-most wins in team history with the 1975 and 1978 teams. So 22 O’s teams have won 90 or more.

If they get win No. 91 today, the O’s will tie for the 18^th-most wins in club history with teams from 1968 and 1974.

MINNEAPOLIS – Another Wild Card roster meeting will be held when the Orioles return home. They must decide whether to carry 12 pitchers again, as they did in last year’s Division Series.

“I think everything’s on the table right now,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

The Orioles will host the Tigers or Royals. The seedings will be set later today. And they finally can begin clearing the table.

By optioning reliever Bryan Baker yesterday to the spring complex, the Orioles won’t have him available unless they reach the Championship Series. That’s one of the differences from last fall’s ALDS roster.

Baker was added to it after finishing his season with Triple-A Norfolk. Among the omitted were Cole Irvin, Shintaro Fujinami and Mike Baumann. Baker made one appearance against the Rangers, walked the bases loaded in the third inning of Game 2 and was charged with three runs when Mitch Garver homered off Jacob Webb.

MINNEAPOLIS – Matt Bowman jogged from the bullpen to the mound to begin warming tonight, keeping him in a familiar routine except for the inning. He isn’t accustomed to pitching in the first. He doesn’t normally face a leadoff hitter.

The Orioles used an opener. Tucker Davidson arrived for bulk relief work. They batted Jackson Holliday atop the order and started him at shortstop. A handful of regulars rested on the bench, only the third time for Gunnar Henderson. The perks of clinching a playoff seeding were flaunted.

Bowman struck out two batters in 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Davidson shut out the Twins over 4 2/3. Ryan O’Hearn and Emmanuel Rivera belted two-run homers off rookie Zebby Matthews and Rivera launched a solo shot off reliever Louie Varland. The Orioles secured the home Wild Card but they didn’t fold, powering past the sagging Twins 9-2 before an announced crowd of 30,558 brave souls at Target Field.

Bowman allowed one hit and threw 19 pitches in his first major league start, and first at any level since 2015 with Triple-A Las Vegas. Davidson, whose contract was selected earlier today, followed him and surrendered four ground ball hits.

"That was nice," manager Brandon Hyde said of Davidson. "He’s pitched in some big games in his career, and had a nice year in Triple-A. Awesome to see him get an opportunity and take full advantage of it tonight.”

The Orioles have two games remaining in the 2024 regular season and they are two games that won’t change much for the club in that they have a playoff berth secured and after last night, the top American League Wild Card spot secured too.

The Orioles will host either Detroit or Kansas City next week, beginning Tuesday in Baltimore in a best-of-three series.

The Orioles (89-71) beat Minnesota 7-2 Friday to lock down the No. 4 playoff seed and by losing, Minnesota was eliminated from postseason contention.

Friday’s win improved the Orioles to 4-0 this year against Minnesota by a 29-11 score. They have scored seven, 11, four and seven runs in wins over Minnesota. The Orioles have produced 47 hits in the season series with 11 homers, batting .320 and with a team OPS of .922.

The Orioles have now won eight games in a row over Minnesota, outscoring the Twins 55-17 in those games.

MINNEAPOLIS – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has made it official. Corbin Burnes will start Game 1 of the Wild Card game Tuesday at Camden Yards.

Burnes was the logical choice, of course,  and Hyde already talked about shortening his outing at Yankee Stadium because he’d be on regular rest on his next turn. Burnes was ticketed for Opening Day and Game 1 starts as soon as the Orioles acquired him from the Brewers over the winter for DL Hall and Joey Ortiz.

The rest of the playoff rotation wasn’t shared today. Hyde said he’d only announce Burnes, but Zach Eflin is expected to pitch Wednesday and Dean Kremer in Game 3 if necessary.

The opponent and times aren’t determined. The Tigers lost today and hold a half-game lead over the Royals for the fifth seeding. Kansas City owns the tie-breaker.

Burnes made playoff appearances with the Brewers but only two starts. He’s allowed six runs and 11 hits with six walks and 22 strikeouts in 19 innings.

MINNEAPOLIS – Jackson Holliday is making his first major league start at shortstop tonight against the Twins.

This is the “already clinched” lineup.

Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, Cedric Mullins and Jordan Westburg are sitting.

Ramón Urías is playing second base. Emmanuel Rivera is at third. Austin Slater is the center fielder.

Adley Rutschman is catching Matt Bowman, who’s the opener.

MINNEAPOLIS – The Orioles are going with Matt Bowman as an opener for tonight’s game against the Twins at Target Field.

Bowman has made 210 appearances in the majors with zero starts. He’s started 71 games in the minors, most recently with Triple-A Las Vegas in 2015.

Bowman has registered a 3.77 ERA and 1.395 WHIP in 14 games this season. He’s allowed five runs and six hits in his last two appearances over 1 1/3 innings, surrendering a three-run homer to Aaron Judge and a solo shot to Alex Verdugo.

The Orioles selected left-hander Tucker Davidson’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk earlier today and he could provide bulk relief behind Bowman. He’s wearing No. 67.

Reliever Bryan Baker was optioned to the spring training complex, leaving him ineligible for the Wild Card and Division Series.

Now we know for certain there will be playoff baseball in Baltimore this year. That Oriole Park at Camden Yards will host at least two home games and hopefully many more.

With Friday's 7-2 win over Minnesota, the Orioles wrapped up the No. 4 seed, the top Wild Card seed, and will host a series next week, beginning Tuesday versus either the Tigers or Royals.

It's a best two-of-three series with all games at the higher seed, which will be the Orioles.

Can't wait to see and hear the Yard rocking as it was last season in the American League Division Series.

Detroit is currently holding the No. 5 seed to be the O's opponent. The Tigers lead the Royals by one game. Should they tie, Kansas City gets the No. 5 spot via winning the tiebreaker.

MINNEAPOLIS – Keegan Akin didn’t make last year’s Division Series roster. He didn’t stand a chance.

A lower-back injury ended Akin’s season on June 28. He allowed 10 earned runs and 13 total in four innings over his last four appearances, an ugly stretch by any measurement.

The Orioles are meeting to discuss their roster for the upcoming Wild Card series and Akin’s spot is secure. He’s healthy and having the finest season of his career. He’s just doing it quietly.

More people should be talking about this guy.

Akin’s 65 appearances rank second to Yennier Cano’s 69 and are 20 more than his previous high in 2022. He’s registered a 3.13 ERA and 0.927 WHIP, the best of his five seasons in the majors, and he’s struck out 96 batters in 77 2/3 innings.

MINNEAPOLIS – Never mind that the Tigers refused to lose again tonight, still behaving like a team determined to run the table. The Orioles used their own tools to nail down the home Wild Card.

Ryan O’Hearn hit his first home run since Aug. 27, Cade Povich twirled 5 2/3 scoreless innings and the Orioles pulled away from the Twins for a 7-2 victory at Target Field.

Game 1 of the best-of-three Wild Card Series will be played at Camden Yards, with the opponent and time to be determined. It’s finally done.

The Orioles can adjust their rotation this weekend and rest some regulars. They can schedule their Monday workout. The only reason to check the out-of-town scoreboard is curiosity or boredom.

“We’re disappointed that we didn’t win the division but to get home field through the Wild Card is huge," said manager Brandon Hyde. "We’re gonna be pumped to play in front of our fans. We know there’s gonna be a lot of energy and excitement in the ballpark and our guys are really looking forward to that.”

MINNEAPOLIS – As injuries and hitting slumps dragged the Orioles out of first place and shifted their priorities to clinching the first Wild Card, bench coach Fredi González could feel manager Brandon Hyde’s pain.

González guided the Braves to the playoffs in 2012 and 2013, but after his 2011 club held an 81-55 record on Sept. 1 and lost 15 of its next 23 games. Starters Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens, the latter a National League All-Star, were sidelined by injuries and the bats went cold, and the Braves were eliminated on the final day.

The subject of brutal stretches was bound to come up between the two men.

“We’ve had conversations with that,” González said. “He asked me, ‘Have you ever seen anything like this before?’ I turned around and said, ‘You remember 2011 when I was going through the same thing in Atlanta?’ And he goes, ‘What would you do? What did you do different?’ And we talked a little bit about that.”

The advice was relatively simple but hugely important. Be the same guy because 26 players are watching you.

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.

When manager Brandon Hyde used the word "collaborative" to describe the decision to shorten Corbin Burnes' start last night, it was clear the O's, the pitching coaches, Hyde and Burnes had all decided that was how last night would go for him.

He was dealing in throwing 69 pitches over five innings, but that was as far as he would pitch on this night.

Unfortunately for the Orioles, the bullpen could not take it from there and three pitchers walked four and allowed six runs to immediately see the Yankees blow the game open.

The Yankees got a 10-1 win and clinched the AL East, while the O's head to Minnesota still needing a win to clinch the top Wild Card spot.  

Baltimore was not conceding the game with this move, but the way the last of the sixth played out, it looked like it. 

NEW YORK – Talk of a miraculous run to a division title was muted last night at Yankee Stadium. The Orioles are geared toward clinching the home Wild Card. That’s always been the more realistic outcome.

They flew to Minneapolis last night for the last three games of the regular season, returning to Target Field after sweeping the series last year by a combined score of 24-5. It’s a weird finish line, marking one ending but also the start of something much bigger.

A chance to roll those dice in October and perhaps bring Baltimore its first championship since 1983.

The season keeps evolving. The Orioles were 57-33 on July 7, with a tremendous knack for brushing off injuries like shoulder lint. They lost five of their last six games before the break and were 28-32 in the second half before arriving at Yankee Stadium and taking two of three.

Look at them now. As healthy as they’re gonna get with Jordan Westburg, Ramón Urías and Ryan Mountcastle back in the lineup, Danny Coulombe and Jacob Webb back in the bullpen, and Grayson Rodriguez shut down. There’s no one else to wait for. This is it.

NEW YORK – A win tonight and the Orioles would clinch the home Wild Card. A loss and the Yankees would finally pop champagne corks as division champions, the jubilation put on ice for the first two games of the series. The out-of-town scoreboard didn’t require watching. The important stuff was happening on the field.

The starting pitchers were worthy of the importance attached – former Cy Young winners Corbin Burnes and Gerrit Cole. Lay down your aces.

The Orioles are eyeing bigger stakes. They shuffled the deck, shortening Burnes to five innings and 69 pitches to freshen him for Tuesday’s assignment. And the game collapsed like a house of cards.

Burnes’ only mistake was a solo homer by Giancarlo Stanton. The Yankees scored six times in the sixth inning against three relievers, Aaron Judge delivered a towering two-run shot in the seventh, and the Orioles were eliminated from the American League East race with a 10-1 loss in the Bronx. They’ll try to secure the first Wild Card this weekend in Minnesota.

Cole shut out the Orioles (88-71) on two hits in 6 2/3 innings and the Yankees avoided the sweep.

With 5-3 and 9-7 wins the last two nights at Yankee Stadium, the Orioles can sweep their three-game series at New York tonight.

The Orioles (88-70) have four games left in the regular season and a series at Minnesota beginning tomorrow night.

They have five sweeps this year of at least three games, but none since early June. They swept three at Boston April 9-11, versus Minnesota April 15-17 and at Cincinnati May 3-5. Their past two sweeps are four-game sweeps at the Chicago White Sox May 23-26 and at Tampa Bay June 7-10.

In going 8-4 this season against the Yankees, the Orioles have a team ERA of 3.75 allowing a .698 OPS in the 12 games. The O's batters score 5.08 runs per game with a .754 OPS.

In going 4-1 at Yankee Stadium, the Orioles have scored 40 runs with a .320 batting average and .908 OPS.