BALTIMORE -- Their playoff hopes all but vanished, the Baltimore Orioles open their final home series of the season on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Baltimore (73-80) is jockeying for a fourth-place finish in the American League East with the Toronto Blue Jays (71-81).
The Rays (74-78) are in a slightly better position but still face an uphill battle as they are four games behind the Minnesota Twins for the second AL wild card.
The Orioles looked as if they were capable of making a playoff push before losing 12 of their past 14 games, leaving them 5 1/2 behind Minnesota.