New York Yankees 7 – Baltimore Orioles 0
Mired in a six-game losing streak, they turned to a former ace to pitch like an ace.
In the first inning, the Yankees seemed to be in bad habits they fell into during the losing streak. Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a ringing double and advanced to third on a fly out to right field. On a ground ball to first base, Ellsbury was thrown out at home to ruin the Yankees opportunity at scoring.
For the Yankees, CC Sabathia looked to prevent the Orioles and he did just that.
Through the first two innings, the Orioles managed to get a base runner but they were stranded in both instances. In the third inning, the first two batters got on base but a strikeout and a double play kept the Orioles off the scoreboard again.
Deep in a pitcher’s duel between Sabathia and Tyler Wilson, the Yankees reached the scoreboard first in the sixth inning.
With one out, Jacoby Ellsbury got on base with a single. After stealing second base, Brett Gardner followed with a single of his own to put runners on the corners. On a fly ball to center field by Carlos Beltran, center fielder Adam Jones made the catch but had difficulty getting the ball out of his glove, allowing Ellsbury to score the first run of the game on the sacrifice fly. After a walk of Mark Teixeira, Brian McCann brought home a run with a single to right field. Starlin Castro hit a slow roller that pitcher Tyler Wilson had to field and a poor throw allowed Castro to reach base and another run to score in a three-run sixth inning. Rare sight for these Yankees.
Following the three-run inning, CC Sabathia responded with a shut down inning, walking one but generating his third double play of the game. He finished his outing with three more retired in a remarkable start for the ace-turned-fifth starter.
In seven scoreless innings, CC Sabathia allowed six hits and two walks while striking out six. Sabathia mixed in his breaking ball and offspeed pitches to keep the Orioles from making solid contact, as evident by his six ground outs and one fly out.
After going scoreless in the seventh inning, the Yankees came to life in the eighth inning against lefty T.J. McFarland.
Carlos Beltran started the eighth inning with a double. Mark Teixeira walked for his third time and Brian McCann brought them both home with a sharp line drive to the right field corner. Joey Rickard misplayed the ball in right, allowing Teixeira to score and McCann reached third. Dylan Bundy came in on relief and got the first two outs of the inning before Didi Gregorius hit a single to center field for a run. Chase Headley followed with a single and Jacoby Ellsbury walked to reach base for the fifth time tonight to load the bases. Brett Gardner was hit by a pitch on the elbow, painfully plating the fourth run of the inning and the seventh run for the Yankees tonight.
Kirby Yates came on in the eighth inning with the seven-run lead but put himself into a hole with one out when he wrapped two walks around a double. Dellin Betances was called on to deny any momentum for the Orioles and rebound from three poor outings lately. With a strikeout and a pop out, Betances got things back in order and kept the Orioles off the scoreboard.
Chasen Shreve got the ninth inning and handled it brilliantly, striking out two and generating the last out on a ground out. The Yankees snapped their losing streak in resounding fashion by scoring seven runs behind CC Sabathia’s great outing.
Win – CC Sabathia (2-2)
Loss – Tyler Wilson (1-1)
Notables
Yankees
*Jacoby Ellsbury – 3 for 3, R, 2 BB, 2B
*Brian McCann – 2 for 5, R, 2B, 3 RBI (10)
Orioles
*Manny Machado – 2 for 4, 2 2B
*Jonathan Schoop – 1 for 4, 2B
Current Yankees Record: 9-16
