There are only four days left in the regular season, so here are some of the top stories entering Thursdays action 1. Orioles on verge of clinching: Four of the six division winners have already been crowned, but the Orioles could join the club with a win over the Red Sox today. Baltimores magic number has dropped to one, so just a single Os win or Rays lo s would make the Orioles AL East champions for the first time since 2014, and for just the third time in their last 40 seasons. In addition to a first-place finish in the AL East, the Orioles would also secure the top seed and home-field advantage throughout at least the American Leagues side of the postseason bracket. (At 99-59, the Orioles probably arent catching the 102-56 Braves for the top seed throughout the playoffs.) It was just in 2021 that the Orioles were 52-110 and still seemingly caught in the throes of a rebuild, making their sudden rise back to prominence all the sweeter for Baltimore fans. 2. Rangers and Mariners begin a critical series: The Rangers are also closing in on the AL West, though with a magic number of two and with the Astros not playing on Thursday, Texas wont be able to clinch the division until Friday at the earliest. Still, heading into the Dominic Tamez Jersey start of this big four-game series between the two AL West rivals, the wild card race will also be a focus since the Mariners sit 1.5 games behind Houston for the third and final AL wild card berth. With a 9-16 record in September, the Mariners are no longer in control of their own playoff fate, as theyll have to both pick up at least a couple of wins over Texas and hope for collapses from either the Astros or Blue Jays to sneak into the playoffs as a wild card. If the Mariners sweep Texas, also exists that would see the Ms still capture the AL West. is the Rangers scheduled starter tonight, while will take the hill for the Mariners. 3. Acuna founds the 40-70 club: Okay, so its technically the 41-70 club, and had also been the only person in the 41-68 club, the 40-68 club, the 39-68 club, and so forth. But, since round-number achievements just have a bit more of a ring to them, Acunas incredible season at both the plate and on the basepaths hit yet another big milestone yesterday when he stole his 69th and 70th bases of the season. No player with at least 40 homers in a season had ever stolen as many as 46 bags in the same year before Acuna exponentially raised the bar in 2023. While , , and Braves teammate will have something to say in NL MVP voting, Acunas huge season is increasingly looking like the favorite to capture the award. Hitting the 70-steal plateau is also of particular note for a player who suffered a torn ACL just two years ago, making Acunas return to not just his old form but to new stolen-base heights all the more remarkable. MVP results aside, Acunas biggest goal is to help lead the Braves to a championship, as his ACL tear forced him to mi s Atlantas run to the 2021 World Series. Cameron Calhoun Jersey