Last night was huge. The Orioles secured the tiebreaker over the Rays and regained sole possession of first place in the AL East. Today, they can go back up two games in the standings—just as they had entered the weekend series—and they can clinch a playoff spot.
There is still work to do. Let’s be honest, the Orioles won’t be satisfied with just any old playoff spot at this point. They have played well enough to win just about any division in baseball. It would be something of a bummer for them to be saddled with a wild card spot after all that.