The American League Wild Card is now officially up for grabs as the Boston Red Sox lost to the Orioles 6-3 while the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Yankees 5-2. With those two scores, the AL Wild Card is now an even race between the Red Sox and Rays as both teams are tied at 89-71 records. Additionally, the Los Angeles Angels are also still mathematically in the race two games behind both teams.

Find out who has the advantage to win the Wild Card.

The Red Sox have been in a downward spiral in the month of September. They are now 6-19 for the month after Monday night's loss to the Baltimore Orioles. What's worse for the Red Sox is that their ace Josh Beckett was the one that took the beating in the sixth inning, when the game unraveled. The Red Sox have simply not gotten the starting pitching they need over the month. They simply haven't been any length and Monday night was a prime example, as Josh Beckett could not provide any length and was done after the 6th inning after giving up 7 hits and 6 runs.

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays have been playing great baseball and unlike the Red Sox, getting quality starts from their starting pitching staff. Johnny Damon has provided a critical veteran presence and leading the charge. Damon recorded a couple of RBI in Monday night's game against the Yankees.

With the Baltimore Orioles playing the Red Sox quite hard and the Yankees resting their important players, it would not surprise me to see the Tampa Bay Rays sneak into the playoffs as the AL Wild Card winner and knock out the Red Sox in what would a historical and significant collapse. The Red Sox had a 9 game lead in this wild card as September began. This would be the biggest collapse since the Mets lost their lead in 2007.

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