Orioles Look To Lessen The Gap In AL East In Series Against Yankees
The New York Yankees bashed their way to a series win over the Boston Red Sox this week, ensuring themselves a position atop the American League East. The Baltimore Orioles will try to make the gap a little tighter when they visit the Yankees for the opener of a three-game series on Friday.
New York dropped the series opener to the Red Sox before winning the next two by a combined 17-1 as the baby bombers stepped up. Gary Sanchez was last season's slugging rookie sensation in the Bronx before ceding that distinction to Aaron Judge in 2017, but Sanchez showed he is still worthy of plenty of praise when he bashed a pair of home runs and drove in five in Thursday's 9-1 triumph. The Orioles have a lineup capable of bashing plenty of home runs but dropped a 6-1 decision to the Washington Nationals on Thursday as an injury to Manny Machado and a day off to rest for Adam Jones left the team without the pop to compete. The Orioles will try to put themselves in a better position on Friday, when Dylan Bundy takes the mound opposite Jordan Montgomery.
PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Dylan Bundy (6-4, 2.93 ERA) vs. Yankees LH Jordan Montgomery (3-4, 3.67)
Bundy suffered the loss in three of his last four starts and is coming off his shortest stint of the season. The former No. 4 overall draft pick allowed two runs and four hits in five innings on Saturday and ended up with the loss as Baltimore went on to fall 5-2. Bundy's lone win in the four-game span came against New York on May 29, when he allowed two runs in seven innings.
Montgomery has been a solid addition to the Yankees rotation and snapped a four-start winless streak by holding the Toronto Blue Jays scoreless on three hits in six innings on Saturday. The 24-year-old, who has given up just one homer in the last three games, lasted just 4 1/3 innings while allowing three runs - one earned against Baltimore on May 29. Montgomery has already made two starts against the Orioles and went 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA.
WALK-OFFS
1. Machado (wrist) underwent testing on Thursday which all came back negative.
2. Baltimore 1B Chris Davis took Machado's spot at 3B on Thursday and went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts.
3. New York SS Didi Gregorius hit safely in each of the last 10 games.
PREDICTION: Orioles 5, Yankees 3