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Series Recap
·6 min read

Series Recap: Yankees overpower Orioles in sweep

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The New York Yankees kept rolling, displaying their dominance of the Baltimore Orioles. Completing the four-game sweep, the pinstripes have recorded 16 consecutive victories against the O’s and finished the season series with a ledger of 17-2. Imagine if the O’s weren’t still gliding on the glimmer and hope each team rides from Spring Training to Opening Day? It might’ve been 19-0.

The Yankees made a ton of history against a historically bad team, but it sure is fun to look at.

In their past 18 series at home, the pinstripes boast a mark of 16-0-2.

GAME 1

It was all about power and Paxton in the first leg of a Monday doubleheader. The Orioles will be golfing soon enough, but it was the Bronx Bombers teeing off with four home runs. Somehow Aroldis Chapman recorded a save in this one, but the 8-5 victory was never truly in doubt.

POWER

Trailing 1-0 in the first frame, Didi Gregorius quickly erased the deficit, depositing a 0-1 sinker from Gabriel Ynoa into the right-field seats for a three-run jolt.

Not long after, it was Gleyber Torres ripping the hearts out of Baltimore like a Mayflower truck. Torres cranked a 2-2 fastball from Ynoa into left-center for a solo home run.

Jumping the New York lead to 5-1 in the second stanza was Gio Urshela with an RBI-double to center.

Urshela wasn’t done. In the fifth, the third baseman powered the pinstripes with a 461-foot shot to left-center.

An inning later, Cameron Maybin, whose mom’s breast cancer thankfully went into remission, crushed a solo bomb to left.

Gregorius added a sac fly RBI to right in the seventh for good measure.

NEW PAX CITY

James Paxton turned in another quality outing. Sure, he allowed a run in the first inning, but hey, it’s the O’s. A sac fly to Renato Nunez in the first, along with solo home runs by Trey Mancini and Anthony Santander in the third and sixth respectively, would be the extent of the damage yielded by Paxton.

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Paxton also picked up seven K’s in his six frames of work.

GAME 2

The second contest was much like the first, with Torres on a torrid tear. It was a bullpen game, and somehow Adam Ottavino registered a save, but the 11-8 victory was never in serious jeopardy.

THE SAVAGE OF RIVER AVE

Facing Ty Blach in the first frame with the bases loaded, Gardner smashed a bases-clearing triple to left, staking the pinstripes to a 3-0 edge.

The New York lead would climb to 4-0 in the second after Breyvic Valera advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an errant throw by catcher Chance Sisco.

After a Mike Ford solo jack in the fourth, the Bronx Bombers were up 5-3.

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YOUNGEST OWNER IN THE SPORT

As Keith McPherson coined him on Twitter, the 22-year-old middle-infielder kept crushing and owning the Orioles.

In the fifth, Torres cranked a three-run rocket to left-center off Evan Phillips, increasing the Bronx Bombers’ advantage to 8-3.

Torres was back with another three-run moonshot in the sixth, this time off Tom Eshelman, upping the led to 11-3.

The home run marked No. 13 against the O’s on the campaign, or half of his season total of 26. Those are the most in a single season against one opponent in the divisional era (since 1969). Torres became the youngest AL player with six multi-homer games in a season.

NEW PEN PALS CONTINUE TO MANTIPLY

Chad Green worked efficiently, throwing 11-pitches in 1.1 scoreless frames as the opener. He probably would’ve thrown more if not for the “BWHIPS” (oh yeah, it’s a stat, listen to our podcast) late in game one.

Joe Mantiply made his pinstripe debut, as I regret to inform you that the team will not be retiring No. 74 in honor of Ronald Torreyes. Mantiply made a nice, brand-new start of it in old New York, but ran into trouble in the third, allowing a run to score on a Rio Ruiz ground out and a two-run tater to right-center by Mancini.

Replacing Mantiply and making his MLB debut was Brady Lail. Lail was quite economical, retiring Jonathan Villar on a two-pitch double-play ball to end the fifth.

Lail was fairly solid until the seventh, when on a potential double-play ball to Sisco, Torres pulled some “ole bull$#!+” (note the “Major League” movie reference) for entertainment value. The ensuing batter, Hanser Alberto, would crush a three-run blast to left.

After Nestor Cortes Jr. allowed the O’s to load the bases in the ninth, Ottavino came on and allowed two runs to score on a Ruiz single to right before finally nailing it down.

GAME 3

Recording win No. 80 on the campaign, the Yankees knocked out 15 hits and received a solid outing from Domingo German in an 8-3 victory.

BLINK AND YOU MISS IT

Leading off the first frame against John Means, LeMahieu wasn’t messing around. On the first pitch, the second sacker smacked a solo shot to left-center, posting the pinstripes to a 1-0 edge.

SLICE AND DICE

The rest of the way, the Yanks carved up the O’s like a bunch of ninjas.

In the second stanza, Maybin followed a Torres walk and a Gregorius double with a two-run single.

During the fourth frame, after Austin Romine singled and Mike Tauchman walked, Aaron Judge actually pulled the ball, roping a two-run double to left.

Facing Miguel Castro, Urshela posted an RBI-single. Gary Sanchez plated Urshela with an RBI-double to center.

Capping off the offense in the fifth, Tauchman sent an RBI-double to left off Chandler Shepherd.

DEEP END DOM

I know records don’t matter as much anymore, but German’s 16-2 ledger is pretty damn impressive. Like LeMahieu on offense, German set the tone on the bump with a pair of quick K’s in the first inning. German’s curveball served as his out pitch on six of his seven strikeouts. The young righty tossed seven innings, yielding two runs on five hits and one walk. Aside from solo homers from Santander and Wilkerson in the fourth and fifth, German handled the Baltimore bats.

Finishing out the affair and making his Yankee-debut was Adonis Rosa, who fanned two and allowed one run on a Nunez homer in the ninth.

GAME 4

It was yet another contest where the final score was closer than it needed to be. However, the Yankees were able to build enough of a cushion to stave off the Orioles in a 6-5 victory.

SANCHEZ OF SWAT

With the Yankees trailing 1-0 in the first inning, Gregorius hit an RBI-single to right off Dylan Bundy to square the contest at one.

Bringing the big blow was Sanchez, blasting a three-run homer to straightaway center. With the home run, Sanchez and Torres joined Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig as the second pair of teammates with 10+ home runs against an opponent in a single season. The latter two belted 11 apiece against the Boston Red Sox in 1927.

HAPPY DAY

J.A. Happ actually held his own against the O’s and kept them in the yard. The veteran lefty navigated five frames, fanning six and yielding two runs on six hits and three walks. Villar’s RBI-single in the first and Pedro Severino’s RBI-single in the third were the extent of the damage allowed by Happ.

FORD FOCUS

Expanding the pinstripe advantage with crucial insurance in the sixth was Mike Ford. Facing ex-Yankee Richard Bleier with the bases loaded, Ford lined a two-run single to left, increasing the New York lead to 6-2.

BULLPEN BENDS BUT DOESN’T BREAK

Sometimes I question what Cessa’s role is on this roster. He’s a good guy and he’s out of options, but it’s not like the Yankees are grooming him to be a starting pitcher. As was the case Monday afternoon, Cessa enabled the O’s to climb closer, yielding a two-run double to Nunez in the seventh.

On in relief of Cessa, Ottavino allowed an RBI-double to Villar, which cut the Yanks edge to 6-5, before he fanned Sisco to squelch the Baltimore threat.

Britton and Chapman were able to keep the O’s off the board in the eighth and ninth respectively.

ON DECK

At 81-41, the Yankees host the Cleveland Indians for a four-game set at Yankee Stadium starting Thursday evening.

Pitching probables: Adam Plutko vs. TBD, Aaron Civale vs. Masahiro Tanaka, Zach Plesac vs. James Paxton, Mike Clevinger vs. CC Sabathia.