The American League playoff teams are set. The seeds are far from it.

In terms of winning the American League East, the Orioles backed themselves into a corner with Monday's loss to Tampa Bay. In order to win the division outright, the Orioles need the Yankees to lose their last two games and the Birds would have to beat the Rays Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Orioles (92-68), really, can't lose. They need to win. A loss would mean the division is once again New York's and the Orioles would play Friday in the wild-card game.

The Rangers lost to the Athletics last night, giving Oakland (92-68) one of the playoff spots as well. If Oakland wins tonight, it will tie the Rangers for the lead in the American League West.

The Rangers (93-67) and Yankees are tied for the best record in the AL as well, showing just how fragile the top seed spot is for the postseason right now.

The Tigers (87-73) beat the Royals in Kansas City last night to win the AL Central and secure the No. 3 seed.

If necessary, a tie-breaker would be held for divisions Oct. 4. The Orioles are selling tickets for a potential tie-breaker game today. The wild-card game will be held Oct. 5 between the two playoff teams that didn't win their division.

The first scheduled AL Division Series Game is scheduled for Oct. 6 (No. 3 seed at No. 2 seed), with the second one taking place Oct. 7 (No. 4 seed at No. 1 seed).

Today's Games

Baltimore at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m.: Miguel Gonzalez (8-4, 3.45 ERA) vs. James Shields (15-9, 3.62 ERA)

Boston at New York, 7:05 p.m.: Jon Lester (9-14, 4.94 ERA) vs. David Phelps (4-4, 3.34 ERA)

Texas at Oakland, 10:05 p.m.: Matt Harrison (18-10, 3.26 ERA) vs. Travis Blackley (5-4, 4.00 ERA)

Posted Oct. 2, 2012