At 10:24 last night, Texas Ranger catcher Mike Napoli squeezed the final out against the Los Angeles Angels to secure an 8-7 victory in the second game of a doubleheader in Arlington.

The Orioles had defeated the Red Sox earlier in the day, 6-3 and this Angels loss enabled the Birds to clinch their first postseason appearance since 1997. They are guaranteed at least a wildcard spot.

With the sharp fall light beginning to fade off the brick façade of the warehouse at Camden Yards, the fans and the Orioles together watched the end of the first of the Texas games on the Diamond Vision screen. The Angels were down to their last out and trailing by a run.

Torii Hunter smacked a two-run double that turned out to be the game winner. The Orioles locker room had been prepped with champagne and plastic sheeting—but the ceremony had to be postponed.

The whole city joined in serious scoreboard watching in a way they haven’t for 15 years.

Locked in a dead heat with the New York Yankees for the division crown, the celebration has the potential to be bigger than a wildcard berth.

For a fleeting moment yesterday, the Blue Jays had a 5-1 lead against the Yankees in the sixth but that was erased in the late innings and New York prevailed 9-6.

The Orioles and the Yankees are tied in the standings and have not been separated by more than a game and a half for weeks.

Sleepless in Baltimore

The last two weeks have been mesmerizing, with each game more important than the last. The Orioles took 38 innings to sweep the Mariners in three games and just missed taking all three against the Red Sox in Boston.

The 18-inning game against the Mariners left the town rife with bleary-eyed insomniacs stumbling to work after the gut-wrenching win.

After losing two straight to Toronto at home last week, the doubters began to fear a collapse. But Chris Davis, Manny Machado, Ryan Flaherty, Nate McLouth and Jim Thome had different plans.

They unleashed a barrage of timely home runs to gain a split in the series with the Jays and demolish the Red Sox in three straight.

This past weekend, the Orioles exceeded 2 million fans for the first time since 2007. Brooks Robinson spoke at his statue unveiling before a sold out game, and shortstop J.J. Hardy gave away bobble-head likenesses of himself to fans entering the stadium.

There have been Orange Mondays for school children around the city and Sister Paulette Doyas, admissions manager at the University of Notre Dame is trying to light the campus tower in tangerine.

The Orioles hit 47 home runs in September, more than any other team in baseball. Jim Johnson has saved 50 games – a franchise best. They’ve won 92 games and need a few more to win the American League East.

Boston travels to New York and we head to Tampa Bay. The pundits give the edge to New York. I’ll stick with Showalter.