The New York Yankees will try to secure their first four-game winning streak since before the All-Star break when they complete a three-game series with the host Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night.
New York’s most recent four-game win streak came in the final four games before the break. And as with the past few days, each of those victories came in road games.
The Yankees beat the Orioles 5-3 on Wednesday by scoring two runs in the eighth inning. A night earlier, New York went ahead for good in the seventh to post a 3-1 victory in the series opener.
“It’s games like this that we continue to find ourselves in,” New York manager Aaron Boone said.
The contributions have come from various sources, with Yankees rookie George Lombard Jr. knocking in runs in two separate plate appearances in the most recent game.
“He’s 21 years old in the big leagues, looking like a veteran at shortstop,” New York second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. said, noting how he figured the offense would come from Lombard, as well.
The margin in Baltimore’s three-game losing streak, which began Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays, has come by a total of five runs.
“We’re able to keep them off the board enough,” Boone said.
Each game is crucial as the final month of the regular season approaches. New York sits nine games ahead of the final AL wild-card slot. The Orioles are just 1 1/2 games out of the wild card, one of seven teams fighting for the berth.
Orioles slugger Pete Alonso is one home run away from reaching 30 for the season, something he did in each of the six full seasons he played for the New York Mets. He has homered six times in the past 10 games, including on Wednesday in the third inning.
“Obviously, Pete is having a great year, just like he always does,” Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said.
Alonso nearly had a second homer on Wednesday, but the ruling off a foul ball down the left-field line was upheld by replay review.
New York leads the season series 7-2. The teams will meet for three games at Yankee Stadium on the final weekend of the season.
The Orioles had usual catcher Samuel Basallo back Wednesday after a month on the injury list. He was in the lineup as the first baseman and produced one of Baltimore’s six hits.
Right-hander Gerrit Cole (6-6, 3.22 ERA) will start for the Yankees on Thursday. He had a three-game winning streak snapped despite six solid innings Friday at Toronto, where he was pegged with a 3-1 loss despite holding the Blue Jays to two runs (one earned).
Cole was on the injury list as he continued he continued his recovery when the Yankees faced the Orioles earlier this season. He’s 7-3 with a 2.39 ERA in 15 starts covering 94 1/3 innings all-time vs. Baltimore.
The Orioles will go with right-hander Kyle Bradish (7-11, 3.65 ERA) as their starting pitcher on Thursday. He’s 0-2 across his past four starts. This will be just his second home outing in a stretch of six stints.
Bradish had mixed results against the Yankees earlier this season by taking a 9-4 road loss after he gave up five runs in four innings on May 2, and rebounding to get a 7-0 win in six innings in a May 13 victory at home. That put his career numbers vs. the Yankees at 2-2 and a 3.40 ERA in nine starts.
The Orioles’ bullpen has experienced recent glitches. Yennier Cano’s struggles continued when his wild pitch allowed the Yankees’ final run to score Wednesday night.
“We trust Cano,” Albernaz said. “We still do. … (We need to) get him reset and back to being him.”
Meanwhile, Chisholm took an awkward tumble and fell on his hip Wednesday, but he said he doesn’t expect that to keep him out of the lineup.
“It’s sore now, but it will be good tomorrow,” Chisholm said on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
