It was a series which felt like old times as the New York Yankees pounded out 22 runs while taking two of three from the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The offensive onslaught continued a streak in which the Bronx Bombers have recorded at least six runs in six consecutive road contest for the first time since Sept. 2005. The Yankees also snapped their streak of 11 straight series losses at Baltimore, dating back to 2014.
GAME 1
Taking their show on the road to Baltimore, the Bronx Bombers had an early wake-up call but when their bats did wake up, they put on quite the show in a 7-4 victory.
SLOW START
Jordan Montgomery is still trying to find his oats from earlier this season. In the first, the Orioles jumped out front on a Tim Beckham homer to right. Chris Davis cranked a two-run blast to left during the second, putting the Yankees in a 3-0 hole.
DIDI MAKES HISTORY
Climbing back the Bronx Bombers solved Dylan Bundy in the fourth. Didi Gregorius lined a two-run homer to right, which cut the O’s advantage to 3-2. With home run No. 20 on the campaign, Gregorius became the first Yankees shortstop with two consecutive 20 home run seasons. Derek Jeter eclipsed 20 on three occasions but never in consecutive seasons. The accomplishment is all the more impressive when one considers Sir Didi missed the first month of the season with an injury.
That's back-to-back 20 HR seasons for Sir Didi! ⚔⚔ pic.twitter.com/uL4uXVfDrP
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 4, 2017
Later in the frame, Jacoby Ellsbury continued to step up his red hot hitting, squaring the game with a single to right.
CASTRO CAN CRUSH
Starlin Castro is playing on another level right now and the ball is screaming off his bat. Castro broke the stalemate in the fifth by smacking a two-run homer to left. It was all part of a three-hit, three-RBI afternoon for the Yankees second baseman, who capped off the scoring with a single to center in the sixth.
RECAP: Starlin and Didi did their thing today. https://t.co/oG8nTsqQc5 pic.twitter.com/LypRmYtpLj
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 4, 2017
WALK HARD
You don’t think O’s pitchers saw Aaron Judge tattoo the baseball on Sunday night at Yankee Stadium, do you? The Baltimore staff walked Judge four-times and also yielded a hit to the New York rookie slugger. Earning the free passes, Judge eclipsed the 100-walk mark.
THE PEN IS MIGHTIER
Chad Green continued to be an absolute witch, whiffing four across 2.1 flawless frames.
*Weekly 'Chad Green is very good' tweet*
He strikes out the side in the 7th. (2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K today) pic.twitter.com/3bUyEpAzxU
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 4, 2017
Then in an effort which would make John Wetteland proud, David Robertson walked the first two batters he faced before picking up a pair of K’s and squashing the threat. Dellin Betances followed with two K’s of his own while yielding a homer to Wellington Castillo before nailing it down.
GAME 2
It looked like the Yankees were well on their way to rolling over the Orioles. Yet, the O’s kept chipping away with a sledgehammer and the Yanks blew a 6-1 lead and were saddled with a 7-6 loss.
CROOKED NUMBER THIRD
Trailing 1-0, the Yankees offense got to Jeremy Hellickson in the third inning. Austin Romine started the charge with a single to left. With one down, Judge walked, Castro was hit by a pitch and Gregorius gave the Yankees their first lead with a two-run single to right.
After a walk to Matt Holliday, Hellickson was pulled in favor of Richard Bleier.
Castro scored on a Greg Bird sac fly and an error by Adam Jones in center. Todd Frazier grounded out to short, which plated Gregorius. Capping off the scoring was the red hot Ellsbury, lining a two-run single to center.
SPOTTY SABATHIA
On the one hand, one could argue CC Sabathia pitched to the scoreboard and gave New York enough length to earn a victory. Yet, Sabathia was probably left in for one batter too long, despite exiting with a lead with one down in the sixth. The Orioles notched their first run on a two-out infield single by Trey Mancini in the first, a ball which essentially any other pitcher makes a play on and records the out. Home runs by Manny Machado in the third, Jonathan Schoop in the fifth and Mark Trumbo in the sixth, were Sabathia’s undoing.
CLOSER CHANGE
Despite questionable pitch selection, it’s hard to pin this loss on Betances. Although after issuing a free pass to Tim Beckham, one could argue he could’ve walked Machado or challenged him more instead of losing on a walk off home run via hanging breaking ball.
After Aroldis Chapman tossed a fresh eighth, one wonders if he has his closer spot back or has worked his way back into high leverage situations?
GAME 3
A rainout couldn’t douse the red hot Yankees lineup against the wet noodle arms of the Orioles pitching staff, in what added up to a 9-1 victory.
EARLY ALL RISERS
It didn’t take long for the Bronx Bombers to jump all over Kevin Gausman in the first. Gardner walked, stole second and with two down was driven home on a Gregorius double to right. Judge followed with a two-run no doubter blast to center, providing the Yankees with a 3-0 lead. The Yanks star rookie has nine home runs and 18-RBI against the O’s on the campaign.
Moving to the third, an infield single by Gregorius, followed by a Judge walk, set up a RBI-single to right by Matt Holliday. The ensuing batter Ellsbury grounded into a fielder’s choice, scoring Judge to make it 5-0.
EXTRA POINT IS GOOD
The Yankees also appeared to be ready for the start of football season, facing Mike Wright in the fourth. With one down, Gardner doubled to left. Chase Headley followed with a two-run homer to right, increasing the advantage to 7-0.
POLISHED OFF WITH POWER
Castro drilled a solo shot to left off Donnie Hart in the sixth and Todd Frazier followed suit with a homer to left against Richard Rodriguez in the seventh. The two homers made it 9-0 New York.
Castro is hitting .397 with six home runs and 16-RBI against Baltimore this season.
SONNY SHARP
Sonny Gray posted an effective outing whiffing five across 5.2 innings, allowing one unearned run, on an error which would’ve given him a full six frames.
From there the combination of Green, Tommy Kahnle and Ben Heller finished it out.
ON DECK
At 75-64, the Yankees head to Texas for a three-game set against the Texas Rangers starting Friday night.
Pitching probables include Masahiro Tanaka vs. A.J. Griffin, Luis Severino vs. Martin Perez, CC Sabathia vs. Andrew Cashner.
