AL Playoff Race (Sept. 20): Orioles Waste Another Opportunity, Fall to Tigers Again

Baltimore lost to Detroit for the second straight day, failing to make a move in the American League playoff race. Cleveland took another step toward clinching the AL Central and the Yankees had another dramatic win on Giancarlo Stanton's walk-off grand slam. Here's Tuesday's roundup, with the latest potential playoff pairings.

The Baltimore Orioles are a year ahead on their rebuild, and competing for a wild-card spot in mid-September was never in the plans when the 2022 season started. Here they are, though, still in the mix, but they've also continued to miss out of some golden opportunities.

They lost again on Tuesday night, falling at home 3-2 to the lowly Detroit Tigers. They've lost four of five games now, which is bad, but what hurts even more is that the two teams they are chasing in the wild-card race — the Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays — have been losing, too. The Orioles could have closed the gap, but didn't get it done.

Baltimore is now 76-71, and remains five games behind Seattle for the sixth and final AL playoff spot. They've scored just two runs and had eight hits the past two nights against a Detroit pitching staff that ranks No. 11 in the AL in earned run average. The magic number for Seattle to clinch that final spot is nine.

There was a lot that went on Tuesday. Here are the results from teams currently in the AL playoff picture:

• YANKEES 9, PIRATES 8: Aaron Judge sparked a ninth-inning rally with his 60th home run, and Giancarlo Stanton hit a walk-off grand slam in the Yankees' dramatic 9-8 victory. 

New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) celebrates his walkoff grand slam against the Pittsburgh Pirates with right fielder Aaron Judge (99) and starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) at Yankee Stadium. (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)

• BLUE JAYS 18, PHILLIES 11: Teoscar Hernandez went 4-for-5 and Toronto pounded out 21 hits in a rout of Philadelphia. Jackie Bradley Jr. and Matt Chapman both had three-run homers for Toronto.
• ASTROS 5, RAYS 0: Houston shut out Tampa Bay for the second straight night, and moved another step closer to clinching home-field advantage in the playoffs. Jeremy Pena had the big blast, hitting a three-run homer in the third inning. To read the full game story, CLICK HERE. 
• TIGERS 3, ORIOLES 2: Baltimore rookie Gunnar Henderson hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning, but it wasn't enough for the Orioles in a 3-2 loss to the Tigers. Austin Voth (5-3) took the loss. He allowed two runs over five innings.
• GUARDIANS 10, WHITE SOX 7: Myles Straw had a two-run double in the 11th inning as Cleveland took the first game in its critical AL Central series with Chicago. Dylan Cease pitched well for the White Sox, allowing just one run in six innings, but the bullpen imploded from there. The Guardians are now 12-4 in extra-inning games this season.
• ROYALS 5, TWINS 4: Minnesota's free-fall continued in a 5-4 loss to Kansas City. Twins starter Dylan Bundy lasted just 4 2/3 innings, giving up four runs. The Twins are just 6-14 in September to fall out of the AL Central race.

Tuesday's schedule for playoff teams

• Houston Astros (Lance McCullers Jr. 3-1, 2.34 ERA) at Tampa Bay Rays (Corey Kluber 10-9, 4.44 ERA), 6:40 p.m. ET
• Toronto Blue Jays (Kevin Gausman 12-10, 3.45 ERA) at Philadelphia Phillies (Zach Wheeler 11-7 3.07 ERA), 6:45 p.m. ET
• Detroit Tigers (Matt Manning 2-2 3.28 ERA) at Baltimore Orioles, (Jordan Lyles 10-11, 4.70 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Pittsburgh Pirates (Roansy Contreras 5-4 3.24 ERA) at New York Yankees (Luis Severino (5-3 3.45 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET 
• Cleveland Guardians (Tristan McKenzie 10-5, 3.51 ERA) at Chicago White Sox (Lance Lynn 7-5, 3.99 ERA), 8:10 p.m. ET
• Minnesota Twins (Bailey Ober 1-2 3.49 ERA) at Kansas City Royals (Daniel Lynch 4-11 5.15 ERA), 8:10 p.m. ET 
• Seattle Mariners (Robbie Ray 12-10 3.72 ERA) at Oakland Athletics (James Kaprielian (3-9, 4.70 ERA) , 9:40 p.m. ET 

If the playoffs started today ...

• No. 1 seed — The Houston Astros (98-51, AL West champion, would get first-round bye) are the top seed, and are eight games ahead of the New York Yankees for the top seed. Their magic number to clinch the top seed is six. They have already clinched a first-round bye.
• No. 2 seed — The New York Yankees (89-58, AL East leader, would get first-round bye) but their lead in the division is now down to 5 1/2 games ahead of Toronto. Their magic number to clinch a bye is five.
• No. 3 seed — The Cleveland Guardians (81-67, the AL Central leader would host No. 6 seed in best-of-three first-round series) have a five-game lead over Chicago in the division race.
• No. 4 seed — The Toronto Blue Jays (84-64, the top wild-card team, would host the No. 5 seed Tampa Bay in a best-of-three first-round series). The Jays are now two games clear of Tampa Bay for the top wild-card spot. They have gone 5-2 this week.
• No. 5 seed — The Tampa Bay Rays (82-66, the second wild-card) is two games behind Toronto and a half-game ahead of Seattle. They are 5 1/5 games clear or the Baltimore Orioles.
• No. 6 seed — The Seattle Mariners (81-66, third wild-card team, would play at No. 3 seed Cleveland in a best-of-three first-round series). They are five games ahead Baltimore.

Outside looking in

• Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles are 76-71, and are five games behind Seattle for final wild-card spot.
• Chicago White Sox: The White Sox are 76-72, and are 2 1/2 games behind Seattle for final wild-card spot.

Are they done now, too?

• Minnesota Twins: The Twins are 73-75, and are 8.5 games behind Seattle for the final wild-card spot.
• Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox are 72-75, and are nine games behind Seattle for the final wild-card spot. 

Eliminated

• Los Angeles Angels (65-83)
• Texas Rangers (63-84)
• Kansas City Royals (59-89)
• Detroit Tigers (57-91)
• Oakland Athletics (54-94)