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• Red Sox record: 92-61

• Games left: 9

• Lead in AL East: 8 games over Tampa Bay (83-68)

• Magic number to win division: 3

• Magic number to clinch playoff spot: 1

• Magic number to clinch best overall record in the AL: 8

• What does magic number mean?: For example, if Tampa Bay wins all 11 of its remaining games, Boston would have to win three to win the division. Any combination of Sox wins and Rays losses totaling three, and the Sox win the division. So that means the earliest they could win the division is Friday.

• How to calculate magic number: You calculate your magic number by looking at the number of games remaining in the season and assuming that your nearest competitor will win all of its remaining games. Then you see how many games you still need to win to ensure the division title even with your nearest competitor winning all of its remaining games.

• Overall ranking in league (important for determining home field in playoffs): First, 2½ games ahead of Oakland, 3½ games ahead of Detroit.

• If season ended today, teams in playoffs: Red Sox, Tigers, Athletics, Rays, Rangers.

• What about the Yankees?: For the fourth time in the past two weeks, Joe Girardi called on Mariano Rivera for more than a one-inning save, and Rivera got the job done, striking out J.P. Arencibia on three pitches with the winning run on second base for the final out of a four-out save. The Yankees are 2½ games out of a wild-card spot with 10 games left; they must virtually run the table to get in.

• Who’s hot?: A year ago last spring, Kevin Gausman was pitching for LSU. Wednesday night, the Orioles’ No. 1 pick in 2012 was in the middle of a playoff race, striking out five Sox batters in two innings, including four in a row. David Ortiz went down on a 99 mph fastball. Mike Napoli whiffed on an 87 mph slider, Mike Carp on a splitter and Daniel Nava on a 98 mph fastball.

• Who’s not?: Manny Machado has had a wonderful year for the Orioles, but he has scuffled in September. An 0-for-6 Wednesday night dropped his slash line to .195/.205/.338/.543 for the month.

• Red Sox's latest outcome: Lost to the Orioles 5-3 in 12 innings on Wednesday.

• Rays' latest outcome: Beat the Rangers 4-3 in 12 innings on Wednesday.

• Notable: The Indians remain a half-game out of a wild-card spot after losing to the Royals on Wednesday, but check out this quote from Jason Giambi, the Indians’ elder statesman, and how it sounds like he’s talking about this year’s Red Sox. He’s not. “This is probably the most ultimate team I've ever played for," Giambi said. "There isn't one guy more important than the other. The bench players help the starters, the starters root for the bench guys and the bullpen guys. We've had guys come up from our minor leagues who have made a huge impact in our season ... Danny Salazar, Corey Kluber and the list goes on and on."

• Playoff format: AL wild-card play-in game on Wednesday, Oct. 2. AL best-of-five division series begins Friday, Oct. 4.

BOSTON -- Jake Peavy is the man in the middle.

Among a stable of six Boston Red Sox starters, he is not considered among the top two, but he's not in the bottom two. He is one of two members of that grouping whose next start date is still up in the air. His performance since coming to Boston has been pretty good, better than average, but not the kind of stuff that lights the world on fire.

On Wednesday against Baltimore, Peavy remained, well, pretty good. There were some really nice moments, particularly the four hitless innings to start off his night and the 1-2-3 seventh that featured two of his eight strikeouts to end it. And there were some rocky times, like six ringing hits in the fifth and sixth innings that helped the Orioles turn a two-run deficit into a one-run lead.

"I gotta do a better job of holding that lead, no other way to it," Peavy said. "That was real close to seven, eight scoreless and I just let it get away from me a little bit there."

The final line is plenty good enough to win on most nights. Peavy struck out eight, walked one and surrendered three runs in seven frames. It was even more encouraging given the fact that he has altered his delivery by dropping his arm angle to a three-quarters position. While the change yielded mostly positive results, Peavy felt that it was not so fluid when runners reached base.

"I've messed around a little bit with dropping a bit lower, and I think if you saw my Tampa Bay start, that ball sailing, running, it's such a fine line with getting that ball where you want to throw it," he said. "My biggest thing is getting jumpy in the stretch."

Indeed, the moment one man reached for the Orioles, others soon followed, and the lead -- while small -- vanished in a hurry.

However, progress was made. In that Tampa Bay start, Peavy walked five while striking out four and gave up three runs in six frames. He said he was pleased with better strikeout-to-walk numbers Wednesday night, and his manager shed light on how that ratio was improved upon.

"Jake was outstanding," Farrell said. "I thought he had good live action to his fastball, particularly in to left-handers where he was able to have that sinker come back in and catch the inside corner. More consistent power from start to finish. More strikes. He pitched a solid seven innings. They bunched their hits together in the fifth and the sixth ... but I thought Jake was very good tonight."

While observers continue to debate who should get the ball in Game 1 of a potential American League Division Series, Peavy's name is barely, if ever, mentioned alongside Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz. He is relegated to Game 3 or 4 in most scenarios. But with the Sox headed toward home-field advantage in that series, those games are of the utmost importance. For one, they will occur on the road. Also, they may be series-clinching or season-saving starts, depending on what happens in the first two games at Fenway Park.

For those reasons, Peavy's prep work over the final couple of weeks is just as important as those luminaries at the heart of the Game 1 debate. The man in the middle will, at some point, be front and center in Boston's bid to survive, or finish, a playoff series.

BOSTON -- Following a 3-2 loss to Baltimore on Tuesday night, Red Sox manager John Farrell, and some of his players, talked about some missed opportunities. They had hit into three double plays and allowed the Orioles to rally from an early two-run deficit before stealing it in the ninth.

That whole mess paled in comparison to the following night, which resulted in more frustration for Boston. The Sox are backing into a postseason berth, and they can certainly pin plenty of blame on themselves.

"We gave ourselves plenty of opportunities," Farrell said Wednesday after a 5-3, 12-inning setback, echoing his thoughts from 24 hours earlier. "Men in scoring position, they would make a key pitch."

The Orioles made that key pitch four times to induce huge double plays in the second, third, 10th and 11th. It allowed them, for the second straight night, to erase an early 2-0 lead and hold off potential Red Sox rallies in the late innings. Boston left nine men on base Wednesday after stranding seven the night before.

What made it even more frustrating Wednesday was the fact that Baltimore did the complete opposite. The Orioles were held hitless through the first four innings before bunching three hits in the span of four batters in the fifth to plate the tying runs. And after Sox starter Jake Peavy got the first two outs of the sixth, Baltimore had three consecutive two-out hits to take a temporary 3-2 advantage.

Finally, in the decisive 12th-inning rally, the O's had three more hits in a span of five batters. Eight of their 10 hits came in the three frames in which they scored.

Boston, meanwhile, had seven hits to Baltimore's zero through the first three innings and only the two-run lead, which came on David Ortiz's two-run homer in the first, to show for it.

"It was a tough one; we grinded it out, just didn't get that big hit against [Wei-Yin] Chen and break it open," said Peavy, who quickly turned on himself. "I gotta do a better job of holding that lead, no other way to it. That was real close to seven eight scoreless, and I just let it get away from me a little bit there."

The Red Sox's only hit in seven chances with runners in scoring position was Ortiz's bomb with one out in the first. David Ross grounded into a double play to end the next inning, and in the third, Chen wiggled out of a monumental jam. Boston loaded the bases with no outs on three straight singles before Mike Napoli lined out to shortstop and Jonny Gomes grounded into a 1-2-3 twin killing.

Dustin Pedroia was stranded at third in the fifth, a leadoff single by Will Middlebrooks went for naught in the ninth and Ortiz followed a Shane Victorino base hit leading off the 10th by bouncing into an unconventional 6-5-3 DP.

Then came the 11th, when Boston played itself out of a potential game-winning run once again.

Mike Carp reached on an infield hit and Quintin Berry ran for him. Daniel Nava sacrificed Berry over, which allowed Baltimore to walk Middlebrooks and have Stephen Drew, who entered the night hitting .183 against left-handers, face O's southpaw T.J. McFarland.

Three pitches later Drew hit into the club's fourth double play, ending the last, great threat for the hosts.

Farrell said Berry was not in to steal a base. With a left-hander on the mound and the sturdy Matt Wieters behind the plate, it was not a time for such thievery, according to Farrell. Berry was simply a faster option for whatever lie ahead, which on a night like this turned out to be only a slow, painful walk back to the dugout.

"Most of the season we come through, and tonight we just didn't get it done," Nava said.

Boston has loads of opportunities to clinch a playoff spot, then the American League East and then the best record in the AL. But loads of them have already gone by the board against Baltimore.

BOSTON -- The word has another meaning, you know, beyond the stuff that grows on a man's chin, or, on "Dollar Beard Night" at Fenway Park, all the reasonable and fanciful facsimiles that adorned the faces of the 4,000-plus fans who took advantage of a Boston Red Sox promotion inspired by the bewhiskered lads in the home dugout.

The word can also be used as a verb, too, which is what happens so often when Buck Showalter and his clean-shaven Baltimore Orioles are in the opposite dugout.

To beard: to confront and oppose with boldness, resolution and often effrontery.

It's archaic, to be sure, but as a definition of how tough the Orioles play the Red Sox -- and have done so since the last weeks of the 2011 season -- it fits as snugly as the growth on Mike Napoli's visage.

Chris Davis' two-run single in the 12th inning, just out of the reach of a diving Dustin Pedroia, gave Baltimore a 5-3 win over Boston, the Orioles' second straight win in this series and ninth in 15 meetings in 2013.

The Tampa Bay Rays also won in 12, after tying the Texas Rangers in the 11th, beating them 4-3. The Boston loss and the Tampa Bay win kept the Sox's magic number for winning the AL East at 3; they had not lost back-to-back games since mid-August (three in a row, 8/14-16).

"There ain't nobody here down, there's nobody here upset," said Sox pitcher Jake Peavy, who gave the Sox seven strong innings but left with the score tied at 3-3. "We just lost a couple of tough ballgames here. I'll tell you, it's almost nice, when you see how easy the tide can change and you lose these one-run ballgames and you see how important attention to detail is.

"We're going to stay positive here. We have a nice lead in the division. That's our ultimate goal. We believe we're going to get it done, we know we're going to get it done. Like I said, you never want to lose, but you can always learn in losing, sometimes more in losing."

There's a party brewing on Yawkey Way -- the Sox are closing in on their first AL East division title since 2007 and can clinch a playoff spot with a win or an Indians loss on Thursday. But the Orioles, who are desperately trying to keep their own October plans alive, have no interest in the corks being popped at their expense.

"They never do, they always play us well, they play us tough," Sox outfielder Daniel Nava said. "It's a good team. Pitching, hitting, defense. A lot of those guys have been around for a while and they're not out of it yet, either, so every game matters to them just as it matters to us."

The Orioles are the only AL East team to have a winning record against the Sox this season, a year after winning 13 of 18 from the Sox, and two Septembers removed from knocking the Sox out of the playoffs on the regular season's final day.

"We end up with a W at the end of a long, challenging night," said Showalter, whose team is within a game of a wild-card spot, a half-game behind Cleveland. "So proud of everybody, they're competitive. You can see why Boston's had such a great year, they're in the same boat. Try to step back so you enjoy two really good groups of people competing at a high level.

"It's that time of year where things can snowball and they can really take off from a positive standpoint. That wasn't an easy jaunt there. We all know that, you watched it. Probably the key spot was Wei-Yin getting the double play there with the bases loaded, and J.J. [Hardy] made a heck of a play. That tips off his glove, [Chen] probably doesn't finish the inning."

The first three spots in the Baltimore order had been hitless in 17 plate appearances until Davis, the major leagues' home run leader with 51, squirted a ground ball up the middle to score Hardy and Brian Roberts, both of whom also had reached on ground-ball singles and moved up on a wild pitch by Franklin Morales, Boston's fifth pitcher of the night. Morales intentionally walked pinch-hitter Steve Pearce to load the bases and retired Manny Machado on an infield fly before Davis delivered.

"They're a good team," Davis said of the Sox. "This is a tough place to play, everybody knows that. They're not backing down for anything, they're not sitting there with their roster for the postseason yet. They're out there grinding, trying to get as many wins as they can. You have to respect that."

Jim Johnson closed out the Sox in the 12th for his 47th save, most in the AL. The Orioles' bullpen held the Sox to four hits, all singles, over the last 6 1/3 scoreless innings, and the Sox hit into four double plays, none more devastating than in the third, when they started the inning with the bases loaded and none out but failed to score. Hardy made a leaping catch of Napoli's liner, and Jonny Gomes tapped back to Chen, who threw home to start the inning-ending double play.

The Sox also tried to play small ball in the 11th after Mike Carp reached on a slow roller to second that was generously scored a hit instead of an error on second baseman Brian Roberts. Quintin Berry came in to run for Carp, and with a left-hander, T.J. McFarland, on the mound and Wieters behind the plate, Sox manager John Farrell said he preferred to bunt the runner over rather than attempt a steal.

Nava got the bunt down, but that took the bat out of the hands of Will Middlebrooks, who had singled three times previously. He was walked intentionally, and Stephen Drew grounded to Roberts, who started the Orioles' fourth double play.

"We put a number of guys on base, but they made a key pitch in a key moment," Farrell said. "The number of ground-ball double plays speak to that. They get a ground ball straight to the guy, and we get a ground ball that's just past the outstretched arm of [Pedroia]."

For the second straight night, the Orioles took the Sox into the ninth inning with a tie score, the games mirror images of each other: stingy starting pitching, a couple of long balls, a battle of bullpens.

History abounds with examples of how hard it can be for a playoff-bound team to finish the job. Here's one: On Sept. 16, 2000, the Yankees held a 7½-game lead on the Red Sox. The Yanks lost 13 of their past 15 games, and didn't clinch the division until there were just four days left in the season.

P.S.: The Yankees went on to win the World Series in five games over Bobby Valentine's Mets.

BOSTON -- “Dollar Beard Night” was a success at Fenway Park on Wednesday, with more than 4,000 $1 tickets sold and a sellout crowd of 38,540 on hand for the Boston Red Sox's tough 5-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Throughout the park, men, women and children could be seen sporting their beards, real or fake, in support of a Red Sox team that has taken on a beard-heavy mentality over the course of the summer.

Here are a few sights from the facial hair fun at Fenway:

BOSTON -- There is a legit chance that John Farrell’s Boston Red Sox could host Terry Francona’s Cleveland Indians on Oct. 4 in Game 1 of the American League Division Series at Fenway Park. Cleveland has crawled to within a half-game of a wild card spot and has a cupcake slate the rest of the way.

While focused on matters at hand in Boston, Farrell on Wednesday admitted he has taken note of the possibility for an intriguing first-round matchup.

“Yeah, there’d be a lot of stories to all of it if that’s the way it works out,” Farrell said. “Because we’re in it, because we’re fans of the game, yeah, we pay attention. But hell, we’ve got stuff to take care of ourselves.”

Cleveland has won 10 of its last 14 to climb closer to wild card leaders Texas and Tampa Bay.

The Indians’ play comes as no surprise to Farrell, an old pal of Francona’s who served as the Red Sox pitching coach alongside Francona from 2007 to 2010.

“Not at all. They’ll run through a wall for him,” Farrell said. “It’s not surprising that even when they’ve had some injuries, whether it’s to [Justin] Masterson or some other guys, guys are stepping up. It’s kind of characteristic of his teams.”

The Red Sox have shown a similar style under Farrell, who obviously learned some of the craft under Francona. Now the two may be on a collision course for October.

BOSTON -- Another day, another series of playoff-related questions fired at Red Sox manager John Farrell, who on Wednesday at Fenway Park revealed a few more nuggets about the makeup of a playoff roster while backing off earlier assertions that he was sold on his Game 1 starter.

Farrell said he will probably have 11 pitchers in the first round of the playoffs, a spot the Red Sox are close to clinching. The team has held 12 pitchers for much of the season, but with the need for only four starters in the playoffs and with two days off in the best-of-five series, bolstering the bench makes sense.

“There’s going to be ample rest for whoever’s starting Game 1 to come back and pitch in Game 5,” Farrell said. “So it’s just by looking at the starter needs is that we can reduce by one.”

Barring any injuries to others, Ryan Dempster and Felix Doubront are likely the two starters who will not be in the postseason rotation. Both have experience in the bullpen, and both could be utilized in that role in the playoffs, but Farrell has yet to make any concrete decisions on that matter. In fact, he has yet to determine if and when Dempster pitches again. If the rotation stays in order, Dempster would get a start during the two-game series in Colorado next week, but with days off on either end of the series and a potential need to test both Dempster and Doubront in relief roles prior to the playoffs, decisions are on hold.

“If [a start for Dempster] presents itself, yeah,” Farrell said. “We’ve got Tuesday, Wednesday are the two games that we have to look at because they’re going to be in advance of ... trying to look at the Baltimore series as keeping guys on line. It’s going to build in extra rest because of the off days. The Tuesday, Wednesday in Colorado, those are the ones that we’ve got some flexibility with.”

Managing the situation without interrupting a starter’s routine is tricky.

“It depends on who the pitcher is,” Farrell added. “For instance, Clay’s going to pitch on Sunday. He threw a good, long bullpen today, he’ll throw another one on Friday, his normal bullpen. So his case is a little bit different than let’s say Ryan Dempster’s, where the added rest right now and one bullpen might be more beneficial to him.”

Farrell indicated on WEEI earlier in the day that he has a solid idea as to who will be the Game 1 starter, but stressed a little more than an hour later that there is still some wiggle room.

“I just responded to my initial thought,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of internal discussion to go through before we begin to identify that and work backward from that on when those starts might take place in that last weekend or the last two series.”

Jake Peavy starts Wednesday against Baltimore, followed by John Lackey in the series finale Thursday. Jon Lester, Doubront and Clay Buchholz are scheduled for the weekend set against Toronto. Beyond that, nothing is set in stone.

* If David Ortiz (94 RBIs) stalls out in the run-production department and if Jon Lester (14 wins) fails to get a victory in his last two starts, then this will become just the fifth Red Sox team since division play began in 1969 to have no hitters with 100 RBIs and no pitchers with 15 wins.

The previous four teams to do so averaged just 79.5 wins, while the current crew is on pace for 98. That speaks to the incredible depth of Farrell’s squad. He has been asked about the solid contributions of part-timers many times during the season. On Wednesday, he indicated some of it has come as a shock.

“To a certain extent, yes,” he said when asked if the quality of the club’s depth has surprised him. “And I say that because while we have always liked a guy like Mike Carp and the swing that he’s had, he’s come in and he’s flourished in this role. There might be individual performances to date that have exceeded what we expected, but as a group, that’s not been the total surprise. The depth that we didn’t have a feel for were the guys that started the year in the minor leagues that have come up and contributed, whether it’s [Brandon] Workman, [Drake] Britton, a Brandon Snyder who was brought in the last day of spring training. Guys that work maybe on the forefront that have stepped in and done a very good job.”

BOSTON --Jacoby Ellsbury made his first appearance in several days Wednesday at Fenway Park, expressing confidence in his ability to return this season. Still, with just a little over a week left in the regular season, there is no timetable for the Red Sox center fielder to even resume baseball activities.

Ellsbury has not played since Sept. 5 due to a fracture in the navicular bone in his right foot. He has shed the walking boot that stabilized the foot and has been arriving early for exercise, trying his best to edge forward in the rehab process.

“I try to push the envelope with [the doctors],” Ellsbury said. “They always have to tell me to slow down, it does take time. I’m very hopeful I’ll be back playing soon.”

Ellsbury suffered the injury fouling a ball off his foot near the end of August. He played seven games with the pain before he, with the advice of the team’s medical staff, felt it was not an injury he could push through any longer. Running the bases in a series in New York did not help his cause.

Hindsight might suggest that shutting things down at the point of the initial injury might have spared Ellsbury and the team an uncertain recovery period right before the postseason. Ellsbury indicated that he was OK with the decision to press forward with the pain and attempt to play.

“When I did it, deep down I kind of knew something was wrong. But I didn’t want to get, I wanted to play,” he said. “It was just one of those things where the docs said you’ve got to give this thing some rest. You can’t push through this, you’ve got to give it time. But I’m very excited with the progress I’ve made. The doctors are very optimistic about coming back and playing.

“I wanted to play [after the initial injury]. First and foremost, I knew we were in a playoff race. So when I heard the news [of the fracture] they were surprised I was playing with it for that long. Like I said, I’ve got great information. The doctors have done a tremendous job. Very hopeful I’m back as soon as possible.”

Manager John Farrell said Ellsbury will begin baseball-related activities “when he’s ready to begin them.” He also indicated that he would like Ellsbury to get game action in before the postseason.

“I think we’re all envisioning him being back on the field before the regular season has concluded,” Farrell said. “I think it would go a long way in Jake getting some timing, some recent at-bats in all that. That won’t be the driving force in getting back on the field, his readiness will be it. I know the way Jake feels and what the medical reports have said. That’s all very realistic that he gets back to us.”

Ellsbury was 10-for-34 (.294) with a home run, two doubles and three stolen bases in those seven games after suffering the injury.

• Red Sox record: 92-60

• Games left: 10

• Lead in AL East: 9½ games over Tampa Bay (82-68)

• Magic number to clinch playoff spot: 2 (Sox can clinch tonight with a win over Baltimore and an Indians loss to the Royals)

• Magic number to win division: 3

• Magic number to clinch best overall record: 9

• What does magic number mean?: If Tampa Bay wins all 12 of its remaining games, Boston would have to win 3 to win the division.

• How to calculate magic number: You calculate your magic number by looking at the number of games remaining in the season and assuming that your nearest competitor will win all of their remaining games. Then you see how many games you still need to win to ensure the division title even with your nearest competitor winning all of their remaining games.

• Overall ranking in league (important for determining home field in playoffs): First, 2½ games ahead of Oakland, 3½ games ahead of Detroit.

• If season ended today, teams in playoffs: Sox, Tigers, Athletics, Rays, Rangers.

• What about the Yankees?: They were shut out in Toronto, 2-0, with knuckleballer R. A. Dickey surviving early trouble to throw seven scoreless innings. Dickey threw 51 pitches in the first two innings, but escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first when he K’d Mark Reynolds. He then faced a minimum 15 batters the rest of the way, allowing one hit. Yanks are 3 ½ games out of a wild-card spot with 11 games left.

• Who’s hot?: Terry Francona lost his job in Boston when the Sox collapsed in 2011, going 7-20 in September. Francona, in his first season back as manager, is writing a different September song in Cleveland, where the Indians are 11-5 this month after their come-from-behind, 5-3 win over the Royals on Tuesday night. They remain a half-game out of the wild-card spot, and after the rubber game of their series Wednesday with the Royals, their last 10 games are against the Astros, White Sox and Twins.

• Who’s not?: Rays OF-DH Matt Joyce is just 2 for 34 in September, an .059 average. The Rays have scored just 53 runs in 16 games this month, one more than the Rangers, and just over half of the 102 runs the Sox have scored in 15 games in September. The Rays are averaging 3.3 runs a game; the Sox, even after being held to two runs Tuesday night, are averaging 6.8 runs a game.

• Red Sox latest outcome: Lost to the Orioles, 3-2, on Tuesday.

• Rays latest outcome: Lost to the Rangers, 7-1, on Tuesday.

• Notable: The Orioles made three errors in a game for the first time since June 27, 2012, and third baseman Manny Machado made two errors in a game for the first time in his young career, but the Orioles still pulled to with two games in the wild card race, with former Sox castoff Danny Valencia tripling and scoring the winning run in the ninth on Matt Wieters’s sacrifice fly.

• Playoff format: AL wild-card play-in game on Wednesday, Oct. 2. AL best-of-five division series begins Friday, Oct. 4.

Led by the likes of Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, Dustin Pedroia, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Mike Carp, the Red Sox have been winning games and enjoying clutch performances by their bearded ballplayers -- a motley crew we've taken to calling the Soggy Bottom Boys here at ESPN Boston.

The Red Sox will take the fun to another level Wednesday night against the Baltimore Orioles, with "Dollar Beard Night" at Fenway Park.

Any fan with a beard -- real, fake or painted -- can come to Gate E, which opens at 5:40 p.m., and purchase a $1 ticket to Wednesday's game.

In the meantime, fans can entertain themselves by virtually trying on beards HERE.

BOSTON -- With the Boston Red Sox inching closer to the American League East crown, performing at an incredibly consistent rate and simply gearing up for a champagne celebration in the coming days, the action on the field may soon begin to lose its importance and intensity. Not that there isn’t anything to play for, but the worry over whether Boston is a legit contender vanished long ago.

That lack of intensity was evident Tuesday night at Fenway Park. There were plenty of empty seats. The Red Sox managed just three hits. Fans sat on their hands and waited for good news from out-of-town scores. The windows in the press box were closed as scribes sipped coffee and occasionally glanced up from their laptops to see what had happened when a rare cheer arose from the fans.

However, if there are any overconfident Boston fans who need a reminder of how razor-thin the margin for error is in the postseason, they would do well to take a closer look at the seemingly run-of-the-mill 3-2 setback Tuesday night. It was the kind of game that would have fans cursing and second-guessing their way through sleepless nights if it were to happen just three weeks down the road.

To begin with, there was the pitching, oh-so-important in October. While walks came at a pretty steady clip, few hitters made solid contact on a chilly night outside of solo homers by Dustin Pedroia and Chris Davis. Baltimore turned three double plays to escape a few jams and help offset some rare shoddy defense, and Boston had a series of sparkling defensive plays to limit the Orioles’ chances.

And after the Sox survived a tight jam in the eighth, they saw Baltimore take a lead in the ninth on a triple and sacrifice fly against uber-closer Koji Uehara. The three-bagger off the bat of Danny Valencia barely got over the outstretched glove of center fielder Shane Victorino, who has hauled in nearly everything hit his way this season.

“An 0-2 fastball that [Uehara] tries to elevate,” Sox manager John Farrell said. “Valencia gets a good part of the bat on it and Vic makes a heck of an effort where it goes off his glove. The triple -- obviously in a no-out, man-at-third situation. Then they get the sacrifice fly and, at the time of the game, that’s the difference in it.”

Uehara said his pitch to Valencia was just about where he wanted it, but “a little high.” Victorino said he should have caught the ball. An untouchable closer and a vacuum cleaner in the outfield both missed their mark by the smallest of margins. The plays received attention Tuesday but it is nothing compared to the microscope that October will bring.

The Sox got a man into scoring position with two outs in the ninth before Xander Bogaerts struck out to end the threat. Perhaps Bogaerts won’t be in that kind of a situation come October, but most other aspects of this tight affair could easily translate to the bigger stage.

And it bears noting that the better the opponent and the tighter the affair, the less successful Boston is. That’s why playoff baseball is a crapshoot. A team can be as complete and cohesive as the Sox are, and a few double plays and a triple off a center fielder’s glove can make it all a nonfactor.

The Red Sox are 20-18 against the other four teams currently in position for a playoff spot and have losing marks against both Baltimore and Kansas City, two of the prime contenders to steal a wild-card position with a late rush. Those are the teams that pitch, catch and perform in the clutch, all the factors that can decide a game in tight October baseball. Much like what we saw on an otherwise quiet September night at Fenway.

BOSTON -- One month, 11 appearances, 37 consecutive batters and a countless number of high fives later, Red Sox closer Koji Uehara’s impressive streak came to end in Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Brought in to maintain a 2-2 tie in the ninth inning, Uehara gave up a leadoff triple to designated hitter Danny Valencia to bring his club-record streak of 37 consecutive batters retired to an end. Valencia later scored the game-winning run on a Matt Wieters sacrifice fly, bringing an end to Uehara’s career-high stretch of 30 1/3 scoreless innings as well.

“I’m not disappointed that the streak ended,” Uehara said. “Of course I’m disappointed that we lost. But streak-wise, no disappointment.”

The streak was the second longest by a reliever in major league history, falling four outs short of Bobby Jenks’ streak of 41 consecutive batters retired in 2007. More impressive, however, may have been Uehara’s numbers during the streak: 17 strikeouts and only 143 pitches needed, 118 of which were strikes.

“It was unbelievable,” Tuesday’s starter Ryan Dempster said of the streak. “When did he give up a run, like in spring training it feels like? It really does, it feels that long ago. To go out there when you’re a reliever, starter, to go that long without allowing a base runner, let alone give up a run. What he’s done has been unreal.”

The reality of allowing a hit didn’t seem to get to Uehara too much either. After Valencia’s triple, Uehara retired the side in order on nine pitches, including a three-pitch strikeout of Brian Roberts.

“Koji’s been so good for us and even after the run allowed [he] continued to pitch as he has,” manager John Farrell said. “Didn’t faze him, finished out the inning.”

For those of you keeping track at home, start the new streak at three.

BOSTON -- On many nights, the Red Sox have the better starting pitcher. They can certainly outslug anyone in baseball. They are stealing bases at an alarmingly successful rate. On Tuesday, playing against the best defensive team in the game, it was Boston that flashed the leather while the Baltimore Orioles committed three errors. And their closer has been virtually untouchable.

Essentially, the Red Sox are a team with many strengths, few flaws and little cause for legitimate concern.

Perhaps the one area of slight uncertainty is in the bullpen, where the roles ahead of Koji Uehara are a bit undefined and the men in some of those roles a bit up and down. On many nights, the bridge to the ninth has a make-it-up-as-you-go-along feel to it.

Junichi Tazawa appeared to be the lock setup man at one point. Rookie Brandon Workman had the look of a guy gaining manager John Farrell’s trust in late-game situations. However, Craig Breslow is now the man of the hour, and although Boston fell 3-2 to Baltimore on Tuesday, Breslow helped to solidify himself as the premier option ahead of, and if necessary in place of, Uehara.

The veteran Breslow entered a tie game in the eighth inning with runners on second and third and nobody out. It took him all of six pitches to retire Chris Davis, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis and elicit a roar from the fans on a night when there wasn’t all that much to roar about. Based on the intensity of the situation and the talent of the three hitters, the moment stood out. At least it did to most on hand. Others were not surprised.

“He’s been doing that all year. He’s been one of our top guys out of the pen,” catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said. “Using him in every situation, we really use him a lot. That’s how he’s been all year and we didn’t expect anything different.”

Breslow is 3-0 with a 0.64 ERA over 28 appearances since July 9, nearly matching Uehara’s otherworldly numbers in the same span (4-1, 0.29 ERA). Breslow has a 0.93 mark between the eighth and ninth innings. Meanwhile, Workman has allowed runs in three of his last four outings and Tazawa has had his slight ups and downs.

Farrell does not have to designate any roles and stick to them like glue, but he has expressed a desire at times this season to have guys aware of where they will be slotted. For Breslow, it may not even matter.

“I’m not incredibly particular about the situation I go in,” he said. “I’d like to think I could be successful regardless of circumstances.”

Farrell, like Saltalamacchia, expressed a complete lack of shock.

“He has [been on a roll], and not just this year. You look at his career numbers, he’s had a very consistent, very solid career, this being no different,” Farrell said.

Uehara finally was scored upon one inning after Breslow performed his magic act, giving up the decisive run on a triple and a sacrifice fly to end his scoreless streak at 30 1/3 innings. Breslow said he was “pretty confident” that Uehara would start a new streak Wednesday. And the Sox are pretty confident that Breslow’s quiet run of dominance (quiet, that is, until the eighth inning Tuesday) helps solidify the bridge.

BOSTON -- The Red Sox playing postseason baseball is all but assured. However, nothing is set in stone and a 3-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday slowed the process a bit.

Boston’s magic number to clinch the American League East is down to three due to Tampa Bay’s loss to Texas.

The Sox held a 2-0 lead Tuesday before single runs by the Orioles in the fifth, sixth and ninth turned the tide and gave Baltimore a big boost in its quest for a wild-card spot. Xander Bogaerts struck out with a runner on second base to end it.

Here are some bits and pieces from along the way:

Revenge of Valencia: Danny Valencia once had a cup of coffee with the Red Sox, playing 10 games with the 2012 “team”. On Tuesday, he delivered a pretty big blow against the Sox, tripling off Koji Uehara to begin the top of the ninth. The hit ended Uehara’s team-record stretch of consecutive batters retired at 37. When pinch runner Alexi Casilla scored on a sacrifice fly moments later, it ended Uehara’s scoreless streak at 30 1/3 innings and gave the Orioles the game's decisive run.

A closer controversy brewing for Boston at the worst possible time, right?

Banner day for Breslow: Sox lefty Craig Breslow was honored before the game as the team’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, given annually to a player who best represents the sport both on and off the field. Hours later he represented himself in spectacular fashion by getting Boston out of a sticky situation in the eighth.

Breslow entered with runners on second and third, no outs and the 3-5 hitters coming up for Baltimore. Chris Davis grounded one to a drawn-in Stephen Drew. One out. Adam Jones did the same. Two outs. Nick Markakis flied lazily to left. Three outs, and the loudest ovation of the night from the faithful for a job well done.

Leading man: Despite the loss, the Sox are 7-3 since Jacoby Ellsbury left the lineup. Dustin Pedroia’s presence at the top of the order has aided tremendously. He has hit safely in all seven of the games he has hit leadoff and started the scoring in this one with a shot over the Green Monster in the first.

It was Pedroia’s 99th career home run.

Dempster’s duty: At a time when the Red Sox have six healthy starting pitchers and all anyone cares about is who will start Game 1 of the playoffs, Ryan Dempster toils in relative obscurity. His start Tuesday night will not garner much attention, but that can also be a good thing. Dempster had a solid six innings, giving up two runs and just three hits in a quiet, respectable no-decision.

Small ball: The Sox have displayed plenty of it lately, bunting their way to some recent runs and continuing to steal bases at a remarkable clip. With three more successful steals (two by Drew and one by Jarrod Saltalamacchia), Boston has ripped off 35 in a row, the longest streak of successful attempts for any team since Toronto had 38 in a row in 1993.

Boston has been successful on 119 of 138 tries overall, good for an 86.2 percent rate, tops in the majors and improving every night.

Defenseless: While the Red Sox’s running game has been a constant, so has Baltimore’s defense. The Orioles entered play with 113 errorless games, tied with the 2008 Houston Astros for the most in a season, and are on pace for the fewest errors in a 162-game slate.

That meant little in the bottom of the fourth, when third baseman Manny Machado muffed one to allow Saltalamacchia to reach and left fielder Nate McLouth dropped a liner for a second error. In between, Machado was slow to apply the tag on Saltalamacchia’s steal of third, as the throw seemed to beat the burly catcher to the bag.

Machado had a throwing error in the sixth to account for his first career two-error game.

Move over, Brady: Those defensive miscues helped the Sox take their 2-0 lead. Baltimore got one back in the fifth, then tied it in the sixth on Davis’ 51st home run, a shot golfed over the garage door deep in center. That home run snapped a tie with Brady Anderson (1996) for the most home runs in a season in franchise history.

Dempster then walked Jones and gave up a shot to center off the bat of Markakis that would have gone for extra bases if not for Shane Victorino, who did a Shane Victorino thing by making an over-the-shoulder grab on a dead sprint just before the warning track.

Up next: It’s “Dollar Beard Night” at Fenway Park on Wednesday, as any fan with a beard in any form (real, glued on chest hair, magic marker, etc.) can buy a ticket for $1, while supplies last. Sales at Gate E begin at 5:40 p.m.

Once everyone is settled in, two clean-shaven gentlemen, Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen and Red Sox righty Jake Peavy, will oppose one another as Boston looks to take that next step toward AL East supremacy.

BOSTON -- The Red Sox recalled infielder Brock Holt and right-handers Brayan Villarreal and Steven Wright from Triple-A Pawtucket, and all three will be active for Tuesday night’s game against the Orioles. The call-ups bring the active roster to 36.

Holt is making his third appearance with Boston this season. He hit .203 with 11 RBIs and a stolen base in 23 games earlier in the year, playing both third base and second base. The 25-year-old hit .258 with three homers and 24 RBIs in 83 games for Pawtucket.

Villarreal, acquired in the trade that sent shortstop Jose Iglesias to Detroit, walked the only batter he faced in his lone stint with the Red Sox on Aug. 20. In 39 minor league outings between Pawtucket, Single-A Lowell and Detroit’s Triple-A Toledo, the 26-year-old was 2-3 with two saves and a 2.60 mark. Villarreal has struck out 86 batters in 75 innings in the majors.

Wright, 28, is 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA in four appearances with Boston, including a start at Houston on Aug. 6 in which he lasted just one inning. The knuckleballer went 8-7 with a 3.46 ERA in 24 starts during the regular season for the PawSox. He did not allow an earned run in 11 innings during Pawtucket’s postseason run.