AL Wild Card standings: Cade Povich helps Orioles eliminate Twins from MLB playoffs

Thanks to a strong effort from lefty Cade Povich, the Orioles were able to snuff out any lingering hopes that Twins fans had of a last ditch effort to sneak back into the AL Wild Card race. Baltimore's victory officially eliminated the Twins from the 2024 MLB playoffs, who were technically still alive after the Royals dropped their matchup with the Braves earlier in the evening.

The Orioles certainly weren't perfect in the second half, playing sub-.500 baseball while slowly slipping out of the AL East race before finally ceding the division title to the Yankees on Thursday night in New York.

The Twins on the other hand were in good shape until a late September collapse pushed them out of the MLB playoffs entirely. Minnesota was 12 games over .500 on September 1 but a 9-16 record this month has dropped them to 82-78 and just outside the top 6 in the American League.

The Twins collapse even caught national attention as MLB insider Ken Rosenthal ripped into the organization on the Foul Territory show. Rosenthal tossed around blame, including calling out Twins manager Rocco Baldelli and the Twins front office for meandering through the second half and coming apart at the seams in September.

Orioles eliminate Twins with victory in Minnesota, solidify American League playoff field

On a more positive note, the Tigers clinched a playoff spot earlier in the evening with a victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. On July 1, Detroit was 38-47 and sat 15 games behind the Guardians in the AL Central.

The Tigers dug themselves out from the depths of hell, going 38-24 in the second half including a 16-6 mark in September that allowed them to catch the rest of the playoff field and secure their first postseason trip since 2014.

As a result of Minnesota's loss, the Royals will sneak into the playoffs despite losing to Atlanta on Friday. Kansas City's rotation has been excellent all year, with Seth Lugo strongly in the AL Cy Young conversation and with Cole Ragans, Brady Singer, and Michael Wacha all posting sub-4.00 ERA's in full seasons worth of work.

In addition to their strong pitching staff, Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is likely to finish second in AL MVP voting behind Aaron Judge. Witt has put up a stunning 10.3 fWAR with a .332/.389/.591 slash line and exceptional defense at the six.

While the full AL playoff field is set, the seeding will unfold over the next two days. The Orioles are locked into the 4 seed and will host one of Detroit or Kansas City. Whichever winds up in the 6th spot will head to Houston to take on the Astros in the Wild Card round.