The American League wild-card race, an egalitarian affair that includes teams more used to winning divisions and others more used to finishing under .500, began to narrow on Tuesday night.
The first to drop out was the Baltimore Orioles, whose best news of the day was the disclosure that the knee injury that Manny Machado sustained on Monday was not as serious as feared.
Hours after that announcement, though, the Orioles lost at home to the Toronto Blue Jays, which, combined with the Tampa Bay Rays' 7-0 victory over the Yankees, knocked them out of wild-card contention.
The Yankees could be next to go. One loss in their final five games, or one victory by the Cleveland Indians, will keep the Yankees out of the postseason for just the second time in the last 19 seasons.
The last time the Yankees failed to qualify for baseball in October was in 2008, when they were closing the old Yankee Stadium. Now, in 2013, they are closing an era, with Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte both retiring, and Derek Jeter, perhaps, not that far behind.
The Yankees fell behind, 3-0, in the first inning on Tuesday night and never rallied. But there was drama provided by an ex-Yankee, Jason Giambi, now a 42-year-old part-time player/guidance counselor for the Indians.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and the Indians trailing the White Sox, 4-3, Giambi hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer. Giambi is hitting under .200 for the Indians, but his blast gave them a startling victory and allowed them to stay one game behind the Rays, who lead the wild-card race.
Staying one game behind the Indians were the Texas Rangers, who beat baseball's punching bag, the Houston Astros, for the second straight night. The Astros have lost nine games in nine days to teams pushing for playoff spots.
After losing, 4-0, to the lowly Seattle Mariners, the Kansas City Royals are four games behind the Indians, and their playoff prospects look increasingly bleak.
Here is a team-by-team breakdown of the five teams still in the A.L. wild-card race:
TAMPA BAY, 88-69 They have won five games in a row and could end up eliminating the Yankees in Yankee Stadium, a somber thought for New York fans. When the Yankees were eliminated in 2008, it happened while they were on the road.
CLEVELAND, 87-70 They continue to win every game against teams with losing records. And those are the only kind of teams they will play for the rest of the season.
TEXAS, 86-71 They have one more game against Houston and then four at home against a tougher opponent, the Los Angeles Angels, who are below .500 but have been playing much better lately.
KANSAS CITY, 83-74 They remain admirable long shots but need two teams in front of them to encounter some turbulence while they win every game they play.
NEW YORK, 82-75 For the most part, the Yankees had an admirable season, staying in contention despite an onslaught of injuries. But they seem to have run out of luck.
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