NEW YORK — The Orioles are in.
Baltimore secured its playoff spot Tuesday night and celebrated accordingly. They are guaranteed at least the third wild card spot, but the Orioles are in position to secure the top spot and home-field advantage in the first round.
Here’s what comes next.
Home-field advantage clinch
Thought the magic numbers were done? There’s one more to keep in mind: two. That’s the combination of Orioles wins and losses from the next-closest teams that the Orioles need to play the wild card round at Camden Yards. That can happen as early as tonight with an Orioles win AND a Detroit loss.
The Orioles have a four-game lead over the Tigers and Royals with five games left to play. If the Orioles get two more wins to reach 89, neither Detroit nor Kansas City can catch them. Baltimore can also secure the top spot if and when those two teams lose games.
How about the division title?
Technically, it’s not impossible. It’s also not the least bit probable. The Yankees need just one more win to take the American League East. To catch them, Baltimore would need to go 5-0 and the Yankees would have to go 0-5 to end the season.
When will the wild card round take place?
The best-of-three series begins Oct. 1, with Game 2 on Oct. 2 and Game 3, if needed, on Oct. 3. All games are on ESPN platforms, and the times will be announced once the stage is set. Expect the Orioles, currently the only East Coast team slated to host, to have the earliest time slot.
If the Orioles clinch the top wild card seed, they will host the second wild card. The Tigers are currently ahead of the Royals via tiebreaker rules, but with five games left there could be movement in the standings.
Baltimore played both of its season series against Detroit in the last two weeks, going 2-4. The bad news for the Orioles is that the Tigers are stronger than they showed them. Baltimore didn’t have to face Detroit ace Tarik Skubal, who leads the American League with a 2.39 ERA and is the front-runner for the Cy Young Award.
The Orioles went 4-2 against the Royals but have not seen them since April. Kansas City has Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo at the top of its rotation, in addition to star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who could win the batting title.
Playoff tickets
Tickets went on sale last week for Birdland Members and on Monday for all fans. There are some seats available on the Orioles’ website, with prices beginning at $111.
Tickets are also listed on third-party services such as SeatGeek and StubHub.
