- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
O’s fall to Yankees, but clinch WC tie
- Updated: October 2, 2016
NEW YORK — The Orioles took this run for the postseason down to the final week. Now it will go down to the final day.
Austin Romine’s two-run single off Brad Brach broke an eighth-inning tie and sent the Yankees to a 7-3 win Saturday at Yankee Stadium, ending any chance the Orioles had to clinch an American League Wild Card spot with a day to spare.
Baltimore did clinch a tie for a Wild Card berth, however, after the Tigers lost in Atlanta on Saturday night. That cut the O’s magic number down to one, meaning a win Sunday will secure a playoff berth. The Blue Jays’ win in Boston moved Toronto and Baltimore into a tie for the top Wild Card spot. If they finish the regular season tied alone atop the standings, the Orioles would travel to play the Jays in the Wild Card Game at Rogers Centre, based on Toronto winning the season series. The Mariners are also looming, 1 1/2 games back, pending their result late Saturday night.
• Tiebreaker scenarios for Wild Card Game
“It would have been a nice game to win,” Orioles catcher Matt Wieters said. “At the same time, we’re playing for what we need to be playing for tomorrow. Tomorrow’s what we’ve been playing the whole season for, anyway.”
If the Orioles don’t get it done either Sunday or in a tiebreaker game, if needed, Saturday’s game is one they’ll regret. They led 3-0 through four innings, on a two-run single by Michael Bourn and Manny Machado’s 37th home run, and starter Wade Miley was pitching well.
But Miley gave up runs in the fifth and sixth innings, and manager Buck Showalter then pushed him into the seventh. The decision backfired when Tyler Austin led off the frame with a game-tying homer.
“A couple mistakes I made later in the game, they made me pay,” Miley said. “The slider just spun over the middle of the plate [to Austin].”
An inning later, Jacoby Ellsbury drew a one-out walk off Brach, and Chase Headley followed with a double down the right-field line, setting up Romine to drive in the go-ahead runs. Brett Gardner drove in the …
