Pirate Galaxy » t involve him quite as

NEW YORK -- Buck Showalter was standing in his office at Yankee Stadium when Baltimore reliever Tommy Hunter popped in and grabbed the managers arm, nudging him toward the thumping party in the clubhouse across the hall.And when Showalter emerged through the protective plastic sheets hanging above the entryway, his players roared and doused him in bubbly.Thanks to a victory in their regular-season finale, the power-hitting Orioles are on to the playoffs.Matt Wieters homered from both sides of the plate, Kevin Gausman gave Baltimore a clutch pitching performance and Baltimore snagged an AL wild card by beating the New York Yankees 5-2 Sunday.It never really got away from us, Showalter said. You go through periods when youre like, youve got a chance to win a division, youve got a chance to be a wild card, then youve got a chance to not even be in it. And you dont overcome that without having a real strong mentality.Baltimore will play Tuesday night at AL East rival Toronto for a chance to face AL West champion Texas in a best-of-five Division Series.All we asked for is an opportunity, and right now, we have an opportunity. So, lets celebrate and enjoy this and get back to work, outfielder Adam Jones said.Zach Britton got five outs and finished perfect in 48 save chances this year with a 0.54 ERA. Wieters had four RBIs and Gausman (9-12) was charged with two runs in 7 1/3 innings as the Orioles -- who led the majors by a wide margin with 253 home runs -- closed with their seventh victory in nine games to reach the postseason for the third time in five years.Theyre looking for their first World Series championship since 1983.You just roll the dice and see if you can knock on the door and break through this time, said Dan Duquette, executive vice president of baseball operations.Baltimore (89-73) barely celebrated on the field after Britton struck out Brett Gardner to end it. Several players hugged each other behind the mound, but others simply walked out of the dugout and formed the customary handshake line.Back in their raucous clubhouse, however, the Orioles let loose. They sprayed beer and champagne, joining the AL East champion Red Sox as opponents who celebrated in the visitors clubhouse at Yankee Stadium within the past five days.I think its even more fun to do it here, Gausman said. They beat us up a lot over the years, way past before my time, so its good to celebrate here.In his final game before retiring, New York slugger Mark Teixeira went 0 for 3 and showed off his Gold Glove form with a couple of slick plays at first base. Honored during a 12-minute ceremony and feted with several gifts before the game, he was removed with one out in the top of the seventh inning so he could soak up the cheers while he walked off the field, fully composed as he hugged his teammates one at a time.Mentally and emotionally, I kind of prepared for it, Teixeira said. It wasnt as weird as I thought it would be.Baltimore squandered a three-run lead Saturday in a 7-3 loss to the Yankees that made its playoff prospects more complicated. But the Orioles got help that night when Detroit and Seattle were beaten, so they knew when they arrived at Yankee Stadium on Sunday that all they needed was a win to get in.When I woke up, I was ready to go, Gausman said. I wanted the game to start at 12 oclock. I was pacing back and forth in here a long time and I wanted the ball today.Jonathan Schoop, who started every game this season, reached on a pop-fly double leading off the third and put Baltimore ahead when he scored on J.J. Hardys sacrifice fly.In the fourth, Wieters was batting left-handed when he hit a two-run homer into the second deck in right field on a 3-0 pitch from Luis Cessa (4-4). That came one batter after Mark Trumbo reached on an infield single when Teixeira failed to scoop third baseman Ronald Torreyes short-hop throw.Manny Machado singled in the sixth and Wieters, batting right-handed, greeted lefty reliever Tommy Layne with another two-run drive just inside the left-field foul pole.Brian McCann went deep for the fourth-place Yankees (84-78), reaching 20 homers for the ninth consecutive season and 10th time overall.Didi Gregorius had an RBI single off Britton with two outs in the eighth before first baseman Chris Davis grabbed Aaron Hicks sharp grounder with two on to end the inning.LOOKING AHEADThe Orioles went 9-10 against the Blue Jays (89-73) this season. They were 4-5 in Toronto, but took two of three crucial games there just last week. We won five straight series on the road at the end of the year. That is a very, very hard thing to do, Jones said.DOUBLE TROUBLEWieters became the first Orioles player to homer from both sides since Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar against Cleveland on July 25, 1996. ... Wieters has seven career multihomer games, three this season.YANKEE DOODLE DANDYGausman was 3-1 with a 1.10 ERA in six starts against the Yankees this year.LET THE RECORD SHOWTeixeira finished with the same amount of hits as games played (1,862). He batted .268 with 409 home runs and 1,298 RBIs.UP NEXTOrioles: RHP Chris Tillman (16-6, 3.77 ERA) figures to start the wild-card game, but Showalter did not announce his plans.Yankees: Play their season opener next year April 2 at Tampa Bay.Mike Shawaryn Jersey . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No. Chris Sale Jersey . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006. https://www.cheapredsox.com/1041z-josh-taylor-jersey-red-sox.html . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. Rich Gedman Jersey . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Junichi Tazawa Red Sox Jersey . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield.CINCINNATI -- Tight end Tyler Eifert cant help but think the Bengals would be scoring more if he were on the field. The way its going, that could be in a couple of weeks.Eifert returned to practice this week, though on a limited basis. He was sidelined for offseason workouts and training camp while recovering from surgery for a torn ligament in his left ankle.The Bengals (1-1) have struggled close to the goal line, settling for field goals on five of their six trips inside the opponents 20-yard line. Last season, Eifert set a club record for a tight end with 13 touchdown catches.I like to think they need me back, Eifert said. I think theyve played pretty well these last two weeks, and I just want to get back out there and help.Its easy during the week when you are sitting in meetings and youre looking at the game plan and youre not missing much, but once the game starts, all you want to do is be out there. So its definitely exciting to take another step in that direction and move closer to getting back out there.Eifert partially tore an ankle ligament during the Pro Bowl. He got enough strength and range of motion back to start running pass routes during his workouts last week.He likely will miss Sundays game against Denver (2-0) at Paul Brown Stadium but could return the following Thursday against Miami if there are no problems.Ive been pretty confident for a while now just because everything is kind of going according to plan and I continue to feel better each and every week, Eifert said. Sometimes youll hit a plateauu, where you are getting better and then you kind of just hit that wall.dddddddddddd I havent experienced that at all. Pretty soon, Ill be back on the field.His backups have gotten mixed results. C.J. Uzomah has five catches for 68 yards. Tyler Kroft has three catches for 35 yards. Neither has scored a touchdown. Uzomah missed practice Wednesday with sore ribs but fully practiced Thursday.H-back Ryan Hewitt has been used for only 16 plays in the first two games as the Bengals got away from their struggling run game and threw to their receivers more than usual.Weve ended up in a lot of three wide receiver sets and that doesnt involve him quite as much as some of the other things, which is unfortunate, offensive coordinator Ken Zampese said. Well find ways to get him on the field more than he has in these first two weeks, thats for sure.Game notesWR A.J. Green missed Wednesdays practice to be with his wife when she gave birth to their son, Easton Ace. He was back at Paul Brown Stadium on Thursday though hed hardly slept the last couple of days. I cant even describe the feeling, but it was awesome, Green said. It was very emotional, just how blessed we are. I dont even know what to say. ... QB Andy Dalton had a second straight full practice despite a sore hip. ... WR James Wright (knee) and OT Eric Winston (back) missed practice.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '