NEW YORK – The mailbag boarded an Acela early Tuesday morning to Moynihan Train Hall, free from the usual inspections that come at airports. You could carry a human head and no one would notice. But if you see something, say something.

Among the mailbag’s many wonderful qualities is a water-proof exterior, which also protects it from champagne, beer and close talkers. Ideal for clubhouse celebrations.

Unfortunately, it didn’t get past Yankee Stadium security. Gotta have a credential.

This is the latest sequel to the beloved 2008 original. Any thoughts of editing questions have been eliminated like the White Sox in June.

Also, my mailbag clinches and yours flinches.

NEW YORK – The Orioles didn’t arrive in the Bronx today with a clinching hangover. They partied hard last night, drenching each other in champagne and beer, and sprayed singles all over Yankee Stadium.

Fill-in starter Marcus Stroman couldn’t record an out on his own in the first inning until facing his seventh batter, resulting in three runs and a wire-to-wire lead in the Orioles’ 9-7 victory before an announced crowd of 41,010.

They were ahead 9-3 in the ninth before Matt Bowman surrendered four runs, the last three on Aaron Judge's 57th homer. Keegan Akin registered his first save since 2022.

Zach Eflin battled unusual control problems, setting a career high with five walks, and he came out after 4 2/3 innings in his shortest start since June 5 in Miami. The bullpen registered 3 1/3 scoreless until Bowman entered, and the Orioles improved to 88-70.

The Tigers also won tonight, leaving the magic number at one for the Orioles to secure the home Wild Card in a series that begins Oct. 1. They moved to within four games of first place.

NEW YORK – The Orioles are shutting down Grayson Rodriguez. He won’t pitch again in 2024.

Rodriguez was the last remaining player on the injured list with a chance to return, the rest working toward being healthy next season. However, right lat/teres discomfort and the clock conspired to remove him from the club’s stretch run and playoff plans.

The final start didn’t offer any hints to being the last this summer. Rodriguez faced the Blue Jays on July 31 and allowed three earned runs and struck out eight in six innings to leave his record at 13-4 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.243 WHIP in 20 appearances. He struck out 130 batters in 116 2/3 innings.

The Orioles intended to have Rodriguez start against the Blue Jays again in Toronto but he was a late scratch after throwing in the outfield.

“We’re going to get him ready for 2025,” manager Brandon Hyde said earlier today. “Just ran out of time with him. It’s disappointing and tough, but he’s so talented and a huge part of our rotation going forward. We just ran out of time with him.”

NEW YORK – The Orioles clinched a playoff berth last night. Now they go for the home Wild Card, with the magic number at two.

They can secure it tonight with a win and a Tigers loss.

The Tigers and Royals are tied for the second Wild Card, four games behind the Orioles.

The Yankees lead the division by five games with five remaining. Still mathematically possible for the Orioles but unlikely.

Ryan Mountcastle is in tonight’s lineup after his pinch-hit single last night. This is his first start since Aug. 22, when he sprained his left wrist.

NEW YORK – Because the Orioles were put in a strange position of needing assistance to clinch a postseason berth, or maybe they stumbled into it, the anticipated intensity level of their eventual celebration was hard to measure.

Would they really go all out with the full plastic-covered, cork-poppin’ craziness like in 2023? And how would that work if their game finished but a winner wasn’t determined in other cities that impacted them?

Plastic goes up and is quickly torn down if done prematurely, like it never happened. Or don’t bother with it and just do a private champagne toast, which became one of those silly rumors that went flat.

Of course they were gonna go wild. Wouldn’t you after dealing with so many injuries and frustrating losses that turned you into a sub-.500 team in the second half?

The Orioles took care of their own business last night with a 5-3 win over the Yankees, knew that the Royals won in 10 innings in D.C. and waited for the last three outs in Minnesota. The Marlins needed to beat the Twins and that game was in the bottom of the ninth as the Orioles filed off the field at Yankee Stadium.

NEW YORK – The reaction to the last out was subdued out of necessity.

A fly ball sealed the Orioles' 5-3 win over the Yankees and players lined up for the traditional congratulatory handshake line. They didn't know whether they made the postseason for a second year in a row. The out-of-town scores posted on a video board in right-center field didn't show a final between the Marlins and Twins.

Manager Brandon Hyde stepped out of the clubhouse for his usual post-game media scrum, and a club official called him back inside. It was done. The Twins lost and the Orioles would get to keep playing in October.

Outfielder Colton Cowser purchased a mini water-proof video camera, dropped it and said, "It broke already." He spoke too soon, using it to take selfies with teammates and media. Heston Kjerstad doused 20-year-old Jackson Holliday with champagne and beer, the kid being too young to drink it but not to wear it. They all hugged, laughed, danced, smoked cigars and let off steam.

The visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium was covered in plastic. The Orioles couldn't clinch at home but they didn't let it ruin their party. They busted loose in the Bronx.

NEW YORK – The influx of players from the injured list to the active roster has bypassed starter Grayson Rodriguez.

First baseman Ryan Mountcastle was the last position player to be reinstated, with his return announced this afternoon. Rodriguez is the last injured pitcher with a chance to come back in 2024, but he didn’t make the trip to New York.

Manager Brandon Hyde confirmed that Rodriguez still isn’t facing hitters. His progression has stalled at bullpen sessions.

Only six regular season games are left, which likely prohibits Rodriguez from making the Wild Card roster if the Orioles clinch it. Starting in the Division Series, if they advance, also would be challenging because of the difficulty in stretching him out.

There are no more minor league games to be played, which leaves intrasquad-type competition down in Sarasota. And the Orioles never committed to using Rodriguez out of the bullpen.

NEW YORK – Ryan Mountcastle is on the Orioles roster but out of tonight’s lineup.

Ryan O’Hearn is playing first base and Heston Kjerstad is the designated hitter.

Jordan Westburg is batting fifth. Ramón Urías is eighth.

For the Orioles

Gunnar Henderson SS
Adley Rutschman C
Anthony Santander RF
Colton Cowser LF
Jordan Westburg 2B
Ryan O’Hearn 1B
Heston Kjerstad DH
Ramón Urías 3B
Cedric Mullins CF

NEW YORK – First baseman Ryan Mountcastle is back with the Orioles.

Mountcastle was reinstated from his injury rehab assignment for tonight’s series opener against the Yankees in the Bronx. The Orioles optioned Eloy Jiménez to Triple-A Norfolk to create space on the active roster.

Closer Craig Kimbrel cleared waivers and was released.

Mountcastle went 1-for-11 with six strikeouts in three games with Norfolk. He hasn’t played for the Orioles since spraining his left wrist on Aug. 22.

Ryan O’Hearn and Emmanuel Rivera have gotten most of the starts at first base.

The Orioles have six games left on their regular season schedule. The Yankees lead the division by six games.

Even the people who choke when trying to crunch numbers can digest this one.

I’m saying there’s a chance, but the Orioles are more likely to earn the top wild card and host a best-of-three series with no travel in the first round.

The clinching formula, boiled down to its rawest form, says the Orioles are in if they win tonight and the Twins lose to the Marlins or the Royals lose to the Nationals. You’ll need to do more scoreboard watching.  

We can stop tracking the Mariners. The Twins are the “first team out” – currently seventh in a six-club field – and suddenly deserving of our attention.

Jordan Westburg’s return from the injured list yesterday pushed Jackson Holliday to the bench. Westburg wasn’t playing third base due to Ramón Urías’ simultaneous return. The setup was cemented.

The times are changing, and back to the norm.

Holliday won’t be buried but his opportunities to start could be impacted, and especially against left-handed opposing pitchers. Urías was the club’s hottest hitter at the time that his right ankle rolled on Aug. 31 in Colorado while he covered the bag on a stolen base. Sending him back to his previous utility role might have to wait until 2025 if he’s back with the club as expected.

Asked yesterday whether he’d stay with Westburg at second and Urías at third, with maybe the occasional starts for Holliday, manager Brandon Hyde said it depends how the Orioles are hitting.

“Ramón was swinging the bat great until he got hurt, swung the bat great today, and Westy will be in there,” he said. “So it’ll be day-to-day.”

Players arrived at Camden Yards this morning unsure whether they’d celebrate a playoff berth later in the afternoon. Some wondered where they’d do it. Whether they’d hang around the clubhouse and wait for the result of the Mariners game or board a train to New York. Is there time to cover lockers, furniture and the floor in plastic or just toast the achievement?

They had to beat the Tigers, of course, or it didn’t matter.

The magic number also can make plans disappear.

Albert Suárez matched his season and career highs with three home runs allowed. The Orioles battled back to tie the score in the fifth before Kerry Carpenter burned Súarez again leading off the sixth, and the Tigers held on for a 4-3 victory before an announced sellout crowd of 44,040 that kept pumping electricity through every section of Camden Yards.

Hopes of winning the last regular season home game were short-circuited.

The Orioles will try again today to clinch a playoff berth, needing a win over the Tigers and Mariners loss in Texas. That’s all it takes.

Seattle’s game starts an hour later, so the Orioles might have to linger at the ballpark.

Infielders Ramón Urías and Jordan Westburg were reinstated from the injured list today after completing their rehab assignments at Triple-A Norfolk. They were removed from the Tides' game last night in the fifth inning.

Outfielder Daniel Johnson and infielder Livan Soto were optioned to Norfolk.

Urías and Westburg were injured exactly a month apart. Westburg fractured his right hand on July 31 and Urías sprained his right ankle on Aug. 31.

The unpredictability of baseball, and so often the Orioles organization, were on full display again yesterday. Trying to guess along is a dangerous game, bound to burn its participants.

News leaked that the Orioles were optioning corner infielder Coby Mayo to Triple-A Norfolk, and the immediate assumption had utility infielder Ramón Urías rejoining the club from the 10-day injured list. Two rehab games at Triple-A Norfolk, where Urías homered Friday night, seemed sufficient.

I jumped to that conclusion so hard that I may have qualified for the next Olympics.

Instead, the Orioles selected outfielder Daniel Johnson’s contract from Norfolk because Cedric Mullins’ status was uncertain due to the neck soreness that kept him on the bench Friday night. Mullins and right fielder Austin Slater attempted diving catches simultaneously the previous night and collided.  

Johnson made sense based on the circumstances, but Urías’ return is imminent, perhaps by this morning. Urías and Jordan Westburg were removed from last night’s game by design in the fifth inning. It’s just a matter of which players are bumped from the roster.

The baseball math can’t be manipulated tonight to give the Orioles a playoff-clinching scenario. It only worked if they won.

Cade Povich held the Tigers to two runs for the second time in less than a week and the Orioles rallied for two in the ninth to send the game into extras, but the Tigers scored twice against Yennier Cano in the 10th and won 6-4 before an announced crowd of 39,647 at Camden Yards.

An Orioles win coupled with a Mariners loss tonight would have delivered back-to-back postseason berths for the first time since 1996-97. Now, we wait a little longer.

A possible alternative is clinching in their final home game of the regular season. Otherwise, they must do it on a trip that takes them to New York and Minnesota.

The Orioles are 86-69 and in danger of losing their fifth series in a row.

Major League Baseball has adjusted its playoff math and the Orioles actually could clinch a berth tonight rather than Sunday.

The magic number remains at three, but the Orioles will reach the postseason again with a win this afternoon against the Tigers and a Mariners loss tonight in Texas. They’d claim the tie-breaker over Detroit in a complicated scenario.

The Mariners’ game begins at 7:05 p.m., setting up the possibility that the Orioles won't celebrate in the clubhouse. It’s happened in the past, with the team's playoff berth confirmed in 2012 while on a flight to Tampa.

Adding to the unusual circumstances that day was how the charter made an emergency landing in Jacksonville after smoke began pouring out of an oven in the kitchen area. Players reboarded and toasted their first postseason berth since 1997. Seats and windows weren't covered in plastic.

The Orioles haven’t made the playoffs in consecutive years since 1996-97. They qualified in 2012, ’14 and ’16 under former manager Buck Showalter and won the division last season.

Winning one Most Valuable Orioles award is quite special. Doing it two seasons in a row takes Gunnar Henderson to a whole new level.

By doing that today he joins a list littered with some of the best players in Orioles history.

Eddie Murray once did this five years in a row from 1981-1985. Others to get two in a row are Adam Jones (2011-12), Rafael Palmeiro (1995-96), Jim Palmer (1972-73), Boog Powell (1969-70), Cal Ripken Jr. (1990-91) and  Frank Robinson (1966-67).

Gunnar joins that list that includes four Hall of Famers.

“Yeah, just the history of this team and just the caliber of players that have come through this team. It’s pretty special to win it back-to-back years. There have been a lot of highly-touted guys that have won this award so I’m humbled to be part of that,” said Henderson.

Cedric Mullins is back in the Orioles’ lineup today, playing center field and batting second.

Mullins took early batting practice on the field this afternoon with head athletic trainer Brian Ebel watching and also ran the bases. Mullins wasn’t available last night due to neck soreness caused by his collision Thursday with right fielder Austin Slater.

The Orioles selected outfielder Daniel Johnson’s contract to provide a left-handed bat for the outfield in case Mullins couldn’t play. Terrin Vavra is on the 24-hour taxi squad.

Ramón Urías wasn’t reinstated today from the 15-day injured list.

Heston Kjerstad is the designated hitter. Jackson Holliday is playing second base. Colton Cowser is the cleanup hitter.

The return of another injured player to the Orioles’ roster is costing Coby Mayo his spot.

The organization’s No. 1 prospect and Minor League Player of the Year will be optioned later today, according to an industry source. The Orioles haven’t announced the move.

Infielder Ramón Urías appeared in his second rehab game last night with Triple-A Norfolk and could be rejoining the club.

Mayo has played in 17 games with the Orioles and gone 4-for-41 with four walks and 22 strikeouts. He started at first base last night and lined a single into center field in the fourth inning before James McCann homered in a 7-1 win over the Tigers. He shattered his bat earlier on a ground ball to short.

Steady starts have eluded Mayo at the major league level despite injuries to Urías, Jordan Westburg and Ryan Mountcastle. He cracked the lineup only six times this month.  

The 2024 Most Valuable Oriole will be announced this morning and we’ll find out whether shortstop Gunnar Henderson is a repeat winner.

No player has received the honor in back-to-back seasons since center fielder Adam Jones in 2011-12. Jones also won in 2018.

Shortstop Miguel Tejada came close by winning it in 2004 and 2006. Second baseman Brian Roberts prevented three in a row.

First baseman Rafael Palmeiro finished first in 1995, 1996 and 1998, with closer Randy Myers winning in ’97.

Hall of Famer Eddie Murray had a tremendous run, winning it in 1978, ’81, ’82, ’83 (with Cal Ripken Jr.), ’84, ’85 and ’88 (also with Ripken). Outfielder Ken Singleton earned the award three times in a six-year period beginning in 1975, and Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson did the same beginning in 1960.