Oriole Twinbill Washed Out; Playoffs May Determine Title

The scheduled twi-night double-header between the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles was postponed Thursday because of rain and wet grounds, adding to the growing list of possible makeup games next week.

The washout of the twinbill, plus the postponement of a single game in Boston between the Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians, left Boston with a 3 1/2-game lead over runnerup Baltimore in the American League's Eastern Duvision.

Boston is now slated to play a twi-nighter at home Friday against Cleveland, followed by single games Saturday and Sunday. The Orioles will play four games in New York over the weekend, also starting with a Friday twi-nighter.

If the division title is not decided after Sunday's games, the Orioles would return home to play a single makeup contest against the Chicago White Sox Monday night and the Red Sox would visit New York for a doubleheader against the Yankees.

If the race still isn't decided, the Tigers and Orioles would play a twi-nighter in Baltimore Tuesday.

Should the Orioles and the Red Sox finish in a first-place tie after all the season games are played, a one game playoff in Baltimore would decide the title. The site was decided by a coin toss in the American League office.