Listen Live: Baltimore Orioles At NY Yankees [Live Audio] MLB
Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
The Baltimore Orioles' pursuit of a playoff spot moves to New York on Friday for three games against the Yankees to finish the regular season. Courtesy of a 4-0 win in Toronto on Thursday, the Orioles are in a tie with the Blue Jays, who would host the wild-card game between the two teams if they ended up in a tie.
Detroit is lurking around and sits 1 1/2 games behind Baltimore and Toronto. Ubaldo Jimenez continued his late-season surge in the Orioles' big win, which also officially eliminated the Yankees from postseason contention. New York polished off a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox with a 5-1 win on Thursday, its fourth consecutive victory overall. Rookie phenom Gary Sanchez went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts and has just one hit - a home run - in 19 at-bats over his last five games.
PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Yovani Gallardo (5-8, 5.63 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Michael Pineda (6-11, 4.68)
Gallardo was rocked for eight runs (seven earned) in 1 1/3 innings at Yankee Stadium just over a month ago. He also had a tough time two turns ago against Tampa Bay but rebounded to limit Arizona to two runs in six innings in a no-decision last Friday. Chase Headley is 10-for-26 and Mark Teixeira has three home runs in 13 at-bats against Gallardo, who has a 6.71 ERA on the road this year.
Pineda will be making his 100th career start, the last nine of which have resulted in an 0-1 record. His winless streak continued with a no-decision at Toronto on Sunday after he allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings, lowering his ERA in September to 1.90 in five starts. The 27-year-old is 4-2 with a 3.73 ERA in 11 career starts against Baltimore.
WALK-OFFS
1. Orioles LF Hyun Soo Kim is 4-for-7 with two homers and five RBIs over the last three games.
2. New York RHP Masahiro Tanaka (forearm) threw a bullpen session Thursday and may start Saturday, although Yankees manager Joe Girardi had yet to announce a starter.
3. The Yankees are 46-25 against the Orioles at the new Yankee Stadium.
PREDICTION: Orioles 5, Yankees 4