Texas Rangers

For long-suffering Orioles fans, the prospect must be almost too delicious to contemplate. They will crowd into Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Sunday night to witness the first postseason game there since 1997 and, perhaps fittingly, it will be against their most bitter of rivals, the American League East champion New York Yankees. The Orioles will be coming home to the warmest of welcomes after defeating the Texas Rangers, 5-1, Friday night in the one-game wild-card round at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Orioles fans were still bubbling Saturday morning, many clad in orange while going for their morning jog or cup of joe, basking in the baseball glow that took more than a decade to shine on the city. "It's been rejuvenating the city," said James Parsons , 33, of Locust Point as he and his family took a walk to the Fort Avenue Starbucks. "It's been rough because it's been 15 years since they've been relevant. " Parson and his wife, Sarah, chuckled as her 1-year-old son Brandon, bedecked in Orioles gear played with his hat. The couple was just discussing baby-sitting plans as they look forward to using the Yankees game tickets they secured.

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Orioles' first playoff game in 15 years took them deep into the heart of Texas to face a team that spent most of the season as the best in the American League. The eyes of the baseball world turned to the long-suffering Orioles and their unlikely path to the postseason, as they played a do-or-die game in front of 46,931 rally-towel waving fans at the home of the Texas Rangers. And much as they've done all season - with different players across the roster sharing the role of hero - the underdog Orioles showed how much fight they truly have.

If the Orioles get past the Texas Rangers tonight, they now know when they'll be playing the New York Yankees on Sunday and Monday. Major League Baseball released the times for the division series games through Tuesday. The Orioles would host the Yankees at Camden Yards on Sunday at 6:15 p.m., ET. Monday night's game at Camden Yards would be at 8:07 p.m., ET. Both games will be broadcast on TBS. The Orioles would have a travel/work out day Tuesday and play in Yankee Stadium.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Greg Knox was shirtless, with his chest painted orange and black, the last time the Orioles were in a playoff game, the finale of the 1997 American League Championship Series. Knox, originally from Towson and a Calvert Hall graduate, was 23 back then. He could act a little crazy, walk around without a shirt in mid-40s temperatures and chalk it up to being a fan. Now he's 38, a financial trader living in Austin, Texas, with a wife, a 2-year-old daughter and a son on the way. These days, being a crazy Orioles fan means blowing off his wife's obstetrician appointment and driving three-plus hours to see his favorite childhood team play the Texas Rangers in Friday's AL wild-card game.

The first question zipped at Orioles manager Buck Showalter   like a fastball under the chin. Just moments after Showalter sat down to take questions from the media before Thursday's American League wild-card playoff workout, the question zinged from his left. “Buck, let's get this one right out of the way,” the question came from the corner of the interview room. “You've managed here. They let you go. Now you're managing against them in the playoffs. Your thoughts on the opportunity to beat the Texas Rangers?

It's conceivable if the Orioles beat the Texas Rangers on Friday, that their next game Sunday could overlap with the 1 p.m. broadcast of the Ravens game at the Kansas City Chiefs. If the Orioles win the wild-card game, they will play the New York Yankees in Baltimore on Sunday. TBS is scheduled to broadcast four divisional series games that day, and though Major League Baseball has not announced times for any of them, one game will likely have to start early in the afternoon. One might guess that the Yankees, with their massive national audience, will appear in a prime-time slot, especially given that the New York Giants also play at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Wild-card round Friday, both on TBS NL - St. Louis Cardinals at Atlanta Braves, 5:07 p.m. AL - Baltimore Orioles at Texas Rangers, 8:37 p.m.   Division Series All games on TBS Saturday ALDS Game 1 - Oakland Athletics at Detroit Tigers, 6:07 p.m. NLDS Game 1 - Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants, 9:37 p.m. Sunday ALDS Game 1 - New York Yankees at Baltimore/Texas NLDS Game 1 - Washington Nationals...

UPDATE (7:10 p.m.): The Oakland A's beat the Texas Rangers, 12-5, to win the AL West. Scenarios updated to reflect. UPDATE (5:57 p.m.): The game times for a potential AL East tiebreaker and the wild-card game have just been announced and are added below. Both would be televised on TBS. Here's a quick look at the Orioles' possible outcomes for the final (scheduled) day of baseball's regular season: If the Orioles win and the Yankees lose The O's and Yankees would play a one-game tiebreaker for the AL East title Thursday at 7:10 p.m. at Camden Yards.

It could have been one of the coolest scenes in Baltimore baseball history. Players and fans cheering together at Camden Yards as the Los Angeles Angels lost to the Texas Rangers and gave the Orioles their first playoff berth since 1997. It was still pretty cool, but it didn't work out as neatly as hoped. The Angels came back on the Rangers and closer Joe Nathan, scoring two runs in the ninth on a Torii Hunter double to give the Angels the lead. They won it in the ninth, to keep the Orioles' postseason clinching celebration at bay at least until later Sunday night when the Angels and Rangers face off again.