Orioles 6, Red Sox 3
Boston Red Sox: 89-71
Tampa Bay Rays: 89-71
In many ways that's all that needs to be said, but since the Sox are going through the trouble of at least going through the motions, let's offer them the same courtesy.
The offense got off to a hot start that somehow was typically ice cold at the same time. The bases were loaded in the first, and then all three runners left without scoring. One run came across in the second, but perhaps only because of a fielding error by Matt Angle, whose throw to the infield was very far off target, allowing Marco Scutaro to come home from first on a glorified single.
The Orioles, of course, came back. Josh Beckett once again proved unable to hold the worst team in the AL East down, giving up a homer to Matt Wieters to tie the game in the second, and then after Jed Lowrie had put the Sox back up with a solo shot in the first, allowing the tying run to come across and loading the bases in the fifth before barely escaping even at 2-2.
Then the sixth hit, and Josh Beckett imploded. With one man on and two out, Beckett would walk Mark Reynolds, and then give up a go-ahead double to Chris Davis. Two pitches later, and Robert Andino was rounding the bases as his long fly ball led Jacoby Ellsbury directly into the center field wall, leaving him laid out on the ground as three runs scored on the inside-the-park home.
No, the Red Sox could not overcome the deficit. One lone run scored in the ninth, and two outs later the game, and the Sox' time atop the wild card standings--was over.