Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Rays

All of a sudden, everything is trending upward for the Baltimore Orioles, who are now sitting in sole possession of the third American League Wild Card spot. You read that correctly -- if the season ended today, the Orioles (61-63), who have struggled for much of the 2026 season, would be heading to the postseason. All it took for Baltimore to make this recent surge up the standings was a trip down to Tropicana Field to face the AL’s top team, which also happened to be MLB’s hottest squad. The O’s continued their strong weekend in St. Petersburg on Sunday afternoon, cruising to a 10-2 win over the Rays. Baltimore will have a chance for a four-game sweep over its AL East rivals on Monday night, as well as an opportunity to improve to only one game below .500 for the first time since April 30. Tampa Bay (74-49) had won nine straight games before the Orioles came to town Friday. “We go out there and beat a good team three nights in a row, I don’t think it’s much of a fluke,” said Jackson Holliday, who tallied two hits and three RBIs. “We have a really good team, and we’re going out there and showing it.” This has been a needed turnaround by the O’s, whose three-city road trip wasn’t going well before an off-day this past Thursday. They dropped two of three games at both Texas and Minnesota, and their AL Wild Card odds were worsening. Now, they’re a half-game ahead of the Rangers and one game in front of the Blue Jays, Guardians and Tigers in a crowded race for the third spot. “Obviously, the Rays coming in, best record in baseball, coming off a nine-game heater on the road, West Coast road trip, which is really impressive to do,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “For us, we really believe we can play with anyone. You have to believe that, and I truly believe that, and the guys in that room believe it, most importantly.”