For about a week, the New York Yankees presented a tone of calm inside their quiet clubhouse as their woes at the plate persisted through a six-game losing streak.
After halting their struggles at the plate, the Yankees hope the worst is behind them and they can embark on another lengthy run of wins starting Friday night when they host the Baltimore Orioles for the opener of a three-game series.
The Yankees batted .155 (30-for-194) during their longest skid since a nine-game streak from Aug. 12-22, 2023. The recent slide featured a 30-inning scoreless streak until Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered on Wednesday. A day after ending the scoreless stretch, the Yankees avoided a four-game sweep by the visiting Los Angeles Angels, posting a 7-3 win on Thursday.
Trent Grisham homered to give the Yankees a second-inning lead, and Paul Goldschmidt followed with a blast two pitches later. Cody Bellinger had three hits as the Yankees finished with 12 — their highest total in nine games.
“Obviously, we were very frustrated with the past few games (given) the talent we have in this locker room,” Bellinger said. “Ultimately, we broke through in a pretty good way (Thursday).”
Bellinger recorded his second straight multi-hit performance after going 2-for-20 in his previous five games.
Aaron Judge doubled after going 2-for-24 in the prior seven games. He is still hitting a major-league-best .366.
“It’s a long season when you’re playing well, it’s a long season when you’re losing a few games in a row,” Goldschmidt said. “We understand that. We’ve done a good job just taking it day-by-day, and (Thursday) was a good example.”
The Orioles took two of three from April 28-30 against the visiting Yankees, then lost 14 of 17. More recently, Baltimore followed up a three-game sweep of the Angels last weekend by splitting a four-game series in Tampa Bay.
After blowing an eight-run lead in a 12-8 loss on Wednesday, the Orioles rebounded with a 4-1 win on Thursday. Colton Cowser has homered in three straight games, including a decisive three-run shot in the sixth-inning of the finale against the Rays.
“To walk in here and take two of four, and to really put yourself in position to take three of four, just gives us a lot of confidence,” Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “It makes us feel really good on this next trip to New York, which is going to be a tough one.”
Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson, who went 1-for-2 with two runs on Thursday, is hitting .396 (19-for-48) during a season-high 13-game hitting streak. His career best was a 14-game streak in June 6-21, 2024.
The Orioles head into their visit to New York after going 10-for-21 (.476) with runners in scoring position in the past three games.
Baltimore will attempt to generate offense against Max Fried (9-2, 1.89 ERA), who will attempt to become the first 10-game winner in the majors this season. Fried lost 2-0 at Boston on Sunday, when he allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings.
Fried has permitted two earned runs or fewer in 14 of 15 starts. The left-hander is 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA in three career starts against Baltimore.
Orioles rookie Tomoyuki Sugano (5-4, 3.38 ERA) will make his second career start against the Yankees. The right-hander earned a win by allowing five hits in five scoreless innings vs. New York on April 28 in Baltimore. However, he did not complete the fifth inning in each of his past two outings.
Sugano last pitched in Baltimore’s 6-5 win over the Angels on Saturday. He wound up with a no-decision after allowing three runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
