A look at the wild card race and a take on Nick Markakis' return tonight

There are now six teams within five games of the second wild card berth in the American League. The Orioles are one of the six and they are 3 1/2 games back of Minnesota at this point.

Did the Orioles pull some fans back in with back-to-back wins at Tampa Bay? The wins came right after a four-game losing streak that included dropping three in a row at New York.

Last night, ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted this:

"On July 29, 2014, KC was 3 1/2 games behind in WC race--and played Game 7 of the World Series. DET starts this game 3 1/2 behind in WC."

Did I mention the Orioles are 3 1/2 out in the wild card race right now? The Royals were 53-52 last year on that date.

Now the Orioles return for seven straight at home, where they are 27-18. A grueling West Coast trip follows this homestand. The mountain still seems pretty big for the Orioles to climb, but the uphill climb continues tonight at Camden Yards.

Tonight is a big start for Kevin Gausman. For one, he'll try to keep the momentum generated the last two days. For two, he's given up 12 runs in 9 2/3 innings over his last two starts. This is his chance to prove he belongs in the 2016 rotation with his starts the rest of this year.

Does he have a strong outing in him tonight?

Nick at night tonight at the Yard: I would never tell any fan or paying customer going to Camden Yards how to feel or whether to cheer or boo. I can only say I hope the fans give Nick Markakis a nice welcome back to Camden Yards tonight.

Markakis was a very solid player and leader for the Orioles for nine years. He played hard and he played every day. He led by example. He showed the younger players the way and he played very well on some very bad Orioles teams.

Many fans can probably remember how sad it was on that September night in 2012 when CC Sabathia threw a pitch that broke Markakis' thumb. As the team was charging toward the playoffs for the first time since 1997, Markakis would not be there to join them. At the time, there was faint hope he'd make it back, but it was a longshot that didn't come in.

Markakis finally got to play in a playoff game for the Orioles last October. It was great to see the lifelong Oriole - a player drafted in round one by the club in 2003 - get to do that. He more than earned it.

Markakis was proud to wear the orange and black at a time when it was hard for fans to be proud of the franchise. A few players have told me privately this year that there is no doubt that his leadership in the clubhouse is missed.

Rather than use today and tonight to once again debate whether he should have been re-signed or if his neck injury was a major concern or to go over old ground, it would be nice to just remember his Orioles career. It will clearly take him to the team's Hall of Fame one day.

In the end, the Orioles passed on the chance to re-sign Nick at the price of four years and $44 million. I hope fans don't pass on the chance tonight and during this series to let Markakis know they appreciated what he did for and what he meant to the Orioles.

Pregame TV: I'll be on "O's Xtra" tonight at 6:30 p.m. on MASN, talking about the Orioles minor leagues. Triple-A Norfolk won again last night, beating Durham 11-1. Christian Walker homered off Drew Smyly, who allowed four runs in 2 1/3 innings against the Tides.

The Orioles' top three minor league clubs remain in first place with Norfolk, Double-A Bowie and Single-A Frederick leading their divisions. Short-season Single-A Aberdeen is just one game out of first. Some good things are happening on the farm and we'll talk about some of them tonight.