Orioles clinch top AL wild-card spot end Twins playoff hopes
The Orioles will have home-field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs after clinching the top AL wild-card spot with Friday s win over the Twins
Fantasy baseball forecaster Pitcher projections for the next 10 days
MINNEAPOLIS -- Cade Povich pitched shutout ball into the sixth, Ryan O'Hearn and Colton Cowser homered and the Baltimore Orioles eliminated the Minnesota Twins from postseason contention with a 7-2 victory Friday night.
The Orioles wrapped up the top American League wild-card spot, and will host either Detroit or Kansas City in the opening round next week.
"To get home field through the wild card is huge," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. "We're going to be pumped to play in front of our fans. There's going to be a lot of energy and excitement in the ballpark."
By the fifth inning, the Twins knew the Tigers had won and the Royals had lost, meaning a victory would keep their playoff hopes alive. But they could muster only two hits through the first eight innings and trailed 7-0.
At their high-water mark of the season on Aug. 17, the Twins were 70-53 and had a five-game cushion in the wild-card race. Since then, they are 12-25.
"It was clearly beyond a disappointing way to end a run and what was, and appeared to be, a promising season that we had going," said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, whose team was the defending AL Central champion.
Povich (3-9) gave up only two hits and walked one while striking out two in 5⅔ innings. The rookie left-hander was making his first career start against the team that selected him in the third round of the 2021 draft. The Twins traded him to Baltimore a year later as the centerpiece of a package used to acquire reliever Jorge Lopez.
"I'm just treating every start like it's kind of a tryout for the postseason," said Povich, who went 2-2 with a 2.60 ERA in five September starts.
Twins starter Pablo López (15-10) gave up two runs, six hits, three walks and had eight strikeouts in 5⅔ innings.
"It's tough," López said about the Twins' collapse. "We were riding the high for so long. Everything was going well. Things were fun. Things were clicking. And then nothing was clicking."
O'Hearn started the scoring for the Orioles with a two-run homer to deep right in the second inning.
The Orioles loaded the bases with one out in the fifth. But López struck out Ramón Urías on his career-high 111th pitch of the night. Then reliever Caleb Thielbar retired Gunnar Henderson on a grounder to keep it 2-0.
Cowser tagged Thielbar's pitch for his 24th homer of the season in the seventh. Baltimore tacked on four more runs in the eighth on five singles off reliever Kody Funderburk.
The Twins broke up the shutout in the ninth on Carlos Santana's two-run single.
Now, the Twins are looking at an offseason spent trying to figure out what went wrong and how to avoid a repeat in the future.
"You don't react emotionally in these moments. Really, you look at it big picture," Baldelli said. "You look at how the season went as a whole. We're also going to look at how the last six weeks went, because that's what a lot of us are feeling right now."
Max Fried pitched three-hit ball over 8 2 3 innings to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 3-0 victory over Kansas City on Friday night but the Royals still got a chance to pop the corks on their first postseason berth since 2015
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani hit his 54th homer of the season Friday night after earlier stealing base No 57 to pass Ichiro Suzuki for the most in a single season by a Japanese-born player
Alex Pereira who will fight for the third time in under six months at UFC 307 on Oct 5 revealed he fought through a knee injury last year but is now fully healthy and wants to fight all the time
Riley Greene hit an RBI double and the a href https apnews com hub detroit-tigers Detroit Tigers a scored two runs on wild pitches in a 4-1 win over the record-breaking Chicago White Sox on Friday night clinching a spot in the a
["\u2018We have to rotate\u2019 - Hansi Flick explains Barcelona changes against Osasuna? Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Inigo Martinez drop out.","Hansi Flick finally answers calls of Barcelona fans with XI vs Osasuna? The long-standing pleas of the Barcelona faithful regarding young winger \nLamine Yamal have on Saturday at long last been answered.","Flick relying on experience in Barca injury crisis? Barcelona boss Hansi Flick will rely on his experienced players as the \nBlaugrana navigate an injury crisis early on in his first campaign at","Hansi Flick set to rest Barcelona sensation vs Osasuna; new signing in line \nto start? With not much time left before Barcelona kick things off against CA Osasuna \nin Matchweek 8 of La Liga, Toni Juanmarti has brought forward a","La Liga Soccer Livestream: How to Watch Osasuna vs. Barcelona From Anywhere? La Blaugrana take on seventh place Los Rojillos at the Estadio El Sadar.","Hansi Flick says the team have been prepared to win? FC Barcelona coach plays down the importance of the record of eight wins \nand mentions potential rotations for the game at the El Sadar","A Game to Play with Ears Pricked? Barcelona has the chance to match its best league start in history tonight \nin Pamplona Eight out of eight, or if you prefer the mathematical","Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Osasuna: La Liga? Expect Barcelona's Hansi Flick to rotate his players against Osasuna while \nkeeping an eye on Inaki Pena's performance.","Osasuna vs. Barcelona lineups, expected starting 11, confirmed team news, \ninjuries \u2014 Lamine Yamal takes spotlight? Still maintaining a perfect start to the La Liga season, red-hot Lamine \nYamal and Barcelona hope to retain their grip on the Spanish top flight \nstandings as","FC Barcelona Versus Osasuna: Flick Makes Line Up Changes To Go 7 Points \nClear? FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick will make changes to his line up with a \nview to going seven points clear by beating Osasuna in La Liga","Husker football scouting report: Purdue? Nebraska football is set to face Purdue on Saturday for their first road \ntest. Here's everything you need to know about the Boilermakers.","Gameday Grades: Another Below Average Outing Brings Low Grades? Purdue Football is less than spectacular right now. Saturday night was \nanother strike to the frustration meter with this staff and roster in","'It's not a jinx': Nebraska coordinators point thumb for overtime miscues? The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed \nor because the format is not supported. Beginning of dialog","Positional Grades & PFF Data From Purdue's 38-21 Loss To Oregon State? Sep 21, 2024; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Purdue Boilermakers running back \nDevin Mockobee (45) reaches for the goal line during the second half","Game 4 Prep: Ryan Walters Press Conference? Purdue Football head coach Ryan Walters spoke with the Boilermakers' media \ncontingent on Monday afternoon as the team returns to Ross-Ade","'Confidence' from Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola 'Sticks Out' to Purdue Coach \nRyan Walters? Purdue coach Ryan Walters says there's a lot to like about Nebraska \nfreshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, especially when it comes to","Purdue Football: Boilers fall to 2-8 after one-score loss to Northwestern? Another close game ended in a loss for the Purdue football team, which is \nnow 2-8 on the season and has found just one win in the conference","Coaches vs Players: Who\u2019s the REAL Reason for Purdue\u2019s Struggles?? In this podcast, we discuss Purdue's disappointing loss to Oregon State, \nhighlighting their defensive struggles, offensive ineffectiveness,","Acrepro.com Wednesday Night Live: Purdue football talk? Purdue football chat is a Wednesday night tradition at GoldandBlack.com and \nthis week it is Purdue-Nebraska talk and more.","Ryan Walters and Purdue are ready to take on Nebraska? Purdue Head Coach Ryan Walters spoke to the media this week about Big Ten \nopponents and the prospect of facing Nebraska on Saturday.","Cooper Manning football career: Revisiting oldest Manning brother's playing \ndays before career-ending diagnosis? Cooper Manning didn't make it to the NFL, but his football story is very \nmuch a \"what if.\"","Joao Gomes: Wolves cannot be afraid to lose? Joao Gomes says Wolves 'can't be afraid to lose' and must start to see out \ngames after letting leads slip.","Former Liverpool transfer target labels Reds \u2018one of the best in the world\u2019 \nahead of Molineux clash? Liverpool are preparing to play Wolves in the Premier League and with the \nhome side currently sat bottom of the table,","Gomes says Wolves need to focus and find balance after poor start to the \nseason? Wolves star Joao Gomes hopes that he can help the team get back to winning \nways.","Former Liverpool transfer target labels Reds \u2018one of the best in the world\u2019 \nahead of Molineux clash? Liverpool are preparing to play Wolves in the Premier League and with the \nhome side currently sat bottom of the table, there is understandable \napprehension","Bayern 1-1 Leverkusen (Sep 28, 2024) Game Analysis? England captain Harry Kane limped off injured as Bayern Munich and Bayer \nLeverkusen drew 1-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday after a","FC Bayern Munich - Bayer 04 Leverkusen live: Bundesliga - Football? Get the latest Football updates on Eurosport. Catch FC Bayern Munich - \nBayer 04 Leverkusen live on 28\/09\/2024. Find scores, stats and","Battle of Bundesliga titans? WHAT happens when an immovable object encounters an irresistible force? \nIt's a riddle that physicists have wrestled with for as long as","Watch Bayern Munich vs Leverkusen with our free stream and tactical cam!? Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich host champions Bayer Leverkusen in a huge \ntop-of-the-table clash on Saturday. Harry Kane and co will be","Stalemate between Bayern and Leverkusen, St Pauli enjoys first Bundesliga \nwin in 13 years? BERLIN (AP) \u2014 Honors even after Bayern Munich dominated defending champion \nBayer Leverkusen in a 1-1 draw in the Bundesliga on Saturday.","Leverkusen must address deficiencies to keep free-scoring Bayern at bay? The Bundesliga holders have made a solid but leaky start to their campaign \nbefore Saturday's clash with the habitual champions.","Bundesliga preview: Wirtz, Musiala headline Bayern-Leverkusen showdown? Pulling the strings in Saturday's early Bundesliga title showdown between \nBayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen will be 21-year-old Germany","'No ego' before Alonso clash, says Bayern boss Kompany? Speaking ahead of Saturday's top-of-the-table game, Kompany said taking on \nAlonso -- who Bayern attempted to hire before settling on the","Bayern Munich's Thomas M\u00fcller analyzes looming clash of titans against \nBayer Leverkusen? Bayern Munich prepare to face reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen in what \nis set to be the match of the week. As the clash between the two","Alonso and Bayer Leverkusen aim to spoil Bayern Munich\u2019s Oktoberfest party \nmood? DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) \u2014 What better way for Bayern Munich to add to the \nOktoberfest mood than to humble the reigning Bundesliga champion","Yankees' Gleyber Torres: Resting Saturday? Torres isn't in the Yankees' lineup Saturday against the Pirates. Torres \nwill take a seat Saturday after going 1-for-4 during a loss in","Yankees put top prospect in leadoff spot to face Pirates' Paul Skenes? The New York Yankees made a slight change to the batting order for \nSaturday's game.","Gleyber Torres not in lineup Saturday? Torres will receive the afternoon off for regular rest, with Jon Berti \nbatting ninth and filling in at second base for manager Aaron Boone","Tim Walz To Meet Young Voters At University Of Michigan Football Game? BELLEVILLE, Mich. (AP) \u2014 Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is \nset to make his final major campaign appearance before the","Tim Walz has entered the Big House for the Michigan vs. Minnesota game? This is the Minnesota governor's second solo trip to Michigan since joining \nthe Harris-Walz ticket.","Tim Walz went to Minnesota-Michigan at the Big House but refused to upset \nvoters with a prediction? Much of the talk this week around the intersection of sports and politics \nis about Donald Trump \u2013 the former president who is again vying","Walz headed to Ann Arbor for Michigan-Minnesota football game? The Harris-Walz campaign has leaned into the Minnesota governor's identity \nas a former football coach on the trail.","Walz is to attend the University of Michigan football game before final \nprep for Tuesday's debate? Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is set to make his final \nmajor campaign appearance before the coming week's debate at a football \ngame","Tim Walz went to Minnesota-Michigan at the Big House but refused to upset \nvoters with a prediction? Much of the talk this week around the intersection of sports and politics \nis about Donald Trump \u2013 the former president who is again vying","Kamala Harris' Right-Hand Man Counters Donald Trump's Grand Alabama Move \nWith Unexpected Michigan Presence? Tim Walz, the right-hand man of Kamala Harris, is coming to Ann Arbor to \nempower the youth but is he just doing to fight Donald Trump?","Walz attends U of M football game before final prep for Tuesday's debate? Tim Walz's dual role as Minnesota's governor and Vice President Kamala \nHarris' running mate was on full display Saturday he attended a","Walz is attending a Michigan-Minnesota college football game before final \nprep for Tuesday's debate? Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is traveling to Ann Arbor, \nMichigan, to attend a football game between the University of","Walz Is Attending a Michigan-Minnesota College Football Game Before Final \nPrep for Tuesday's Debate? Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is traveling to Ann Arbor, \nMichigan, to attend a football game between the University of"]
Hansi Flick set to rest Barcelona sensation vs Osasuna; new signing in line
to start? With not much time left before Barcelona kick things off against CA Osasuna
in Matchweek 8 of La Liga, Toni Juanmarti has brought forward a
Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Osasuna: La Liga? Expect Barcelona's Hansi Flick to rotate his players against Osasuna while
keeping an eye on Inaki Pena's performance.Gameday Grades: Another Below Average Outing Brings Low Grades? Purdue Football is less than spectacular right now. Saturday night was
another strike to the frustration meter with this staff and roster in
'Confidence' from Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola 'Sticks Out' to Purdue Coach
Ryan Walters? Purdue coach Ryan Walters says there's a lot to like about Nebraska
freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, especially when it comes to
Ryan Walters and Purdue are ready to take on Nebraska? Purdue Head Coach Ryan Walters spoke to the media this week about Big Ten
opponents and the prospect of facing Nebraska on Saturday.Gomes says Wolves need to focus and find balance after poor start to the
season? Wolves star Joao Gomes hopes that he can help the team get back to winning
ways.
Battle of Bundesliga titans? WHAT happens when an immovable object encounters an irresistible force?
It's a riddle that physicists have wrestled with for as long as
Bundesliga preview: Wirtz, Musiala headline Bayern-Leverkusen showdown? Pulling the strings in Saturday's early Bundesliga title showdown between
Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen will be 21-year-old GermanyYankees' Gleyber Torres: Resting Saturday? Torres isn't in the Yankees' lineup Saturday against the Pirates. Torres
will take a seat Saturday after going 1-for-4 during a loss in
Tim Walz has entered the Big House for the Michigan vs. Minnesota game? This is the Minnesota governor's second solo trip to Michigan since joining
the Harris-Walz ticket.
Tim Walz went to Minnesota-Michigan at the Big House but refused to upset
voters with a prediction? Much of the talk this week around the intersection of sports and politics
is about Donald Trump – the former president who is again vyingWalz Is Attending a Michigan-Minnesota College Football Game Before Final
Prep for Tuesday's Debate? Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is traveling to Ann Arbor,
Michigan, to attend a football game between the University of