The race for the third wild-card spot in the American League is turning into a complete free-for-all. Nobody in the race has a winning record as of Sunday, but there are six teams all within a game-and-a-half of that spot, and the order is changing on a daily basis.  

Thanks to their 10-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday afternoon, the Baltimore Orioles are now the sole occupants of that spot and will begin play on Monday in a playoff position.

It is a big deal for them for a lot of reasons.

Baltimore Orioles find themselves in playoff position for first time in months

Thanks to their win on Sunday, it is the first time since April 13 of this season that Orioles have found themselves in sole possession of a playoff spot. That was just 16 games into the season, and when they had a 9-7 record, which is actually a significantly better winning percentage than they have had since then.

Since April 13, the Orioles are actually four games under .500 (52-56), and even found themselves as sellers at the trade deadline by sending starting catcher Adley Rutschman to the division rival Boston Red Sox.

The fact they are even still in the race, let alone in a spot, with that record and with that trade is kind of ridiculous on the surface. 

But thanks to a recent surge in the standings, going 7-5 in the 12 games since the trade deadline, as well as the rest of the American League wild-card contenders going through their own issues with no ability to pull away, the Orioles find themselves right in the thick of the playoff race.

They have to try and hold off all of the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians (all of whom are within a game-and-a-half of them), as well as the Seattle Mariners (who entered the day three games back of the Orioles). 

None of these teams have a winning record.

Several of them were sellers at the trade deadline. 

It's a good bet that several of these teams are going to start falling back over the next few weeks, but for right now, it's anybody's spot to take and the Orioles seem to be the hot team at the moment trying to build some momentum. 

This Orioles core has disappointed in recent years and failed to deliver on the hype that surrounded them when they started to arrive in the majors, and the trade of Rutschman only magnifies that disappointment. They still have a chance to salvage something this season by sneaking into a playoff spot, even if the overall record is not overly impressive.