The New York Yankees haven’t cranked up much offense lately, but that hasn’t stopped them from managing a couple of recent victories.
They look to build on that against the host Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night, when the Yankees will try to secure a three-game winning streak for just the second time since the All-Star break.
The Orioles have taken a slight detour after rising into playoff position in the American League.
But New York manager Aaron Boone knows Baltimore has plenty of firepower offensively.
“A lot of the same guys, some guys that have really started to play well for them,” Boone said. “They’ve got some left-right platoon guys who are playing well, doing well in those matchups.”
New York pulled out a win in Tuesday’s series opener as Trent Grisham homered and drove in all of its runs in a 3-1 result.
The Yankees could benefit in the middle game in the series from having been off Monday while Baltimore played in Tampa Bay. New York used five relievers behind Carlos Rodon on Tuesday, but the bullpen should largely be in good order, Boone said.
“You’ve got to be able to adapt, and we’ll do that.”
The Orioles felt like they missed an opportunity, but they can’t dwell on that.
“Every loss sucks. It doesn’t matter what time of year,” Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said. “But like we said, we know where we’re at, time of year and in the race. It’s one of those things where losses, they always hurt, but for us, we’ve just got to turn the page and focus on tomorrow.”
The Orioles like how infielder Coby Mayo has been swinging the bat at times recently. He accounted for the team’s only run Tuesday with a home run.
Mayo has homered 17 times this season, but his homers in the last two games marks the first time he’s left the yard in back-to-back games since April.
“Just how fast he can turn on a ball,” Albernaz said. “He’s still learning and developing. … Coming down the stretch, he’s really putting his best foot forward for us.”
Though Pete Alonso extended his hitting streak to 10 games, the Orioles need more consistent offense across the lineup after managing only four hits in the series opener. They tried three pinch hitters and each of them struck out.
Right-hander Will Warren (8-6, 4.42 ERA) goes to the mound for the Yankees on Wednesday. Across 12 outings since the beginning of June, he has recorded only one victory.
Warren picked up a victory May 12 at Baltimore when allowing two runs in 5 2/3 innings. Less than two weeks earlier, he beat Baltimore with a 6 1/3-inning effort where he gave up two runs (one earned). Those starts moved him to 3-2 with a 3.94 ERA in six all-time outings against the Orioles.
The Orioles will have Chris Bassitt (4-4, 5.11) in a starting role in only his second assignment after spending more than two months on the injured list with low back discomfort. He didn’t notch a decision Friday at Tampa Bay, holding the Rays to two runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Bassitt is 5-2 with a 2.06 ERA in nine career starts against the Yankees. He covered 56 2/3 innings in those outings with 64 strikeouts.
–Field Level Media
