Yankees at Orioles
The New York Yankees are trying to find some momentum to take with them into the playoffs, but Mother Nature might not cooperate. The Yankees will try to get in as much of a three-game series as they can when they visit the Baltimore Orioles on Friday for the opener of their final regular-season set.
All teams playing on the east coast this weekend are keeping an eye on the weather as Hurricane Joaquin slowly makes its way toward the country, and postseason positioning could be impacted by the results of several games in that area. New York clinched a wild card spot when it snapped a three-game slide with a 4-1 win over Boston on Thursday, but the Yankees still don’t know who they’ll play in that contest and need one more win to ensure the wild card will be played at Yankee Stadium. The Orioles (78-81) took the final two of a four-game set at home against a Toronto team that was resting most of its starters after clinching the American League East. Baltimore needs a strong final weekend to move out of a three-way tie with Boston and Tampa Bay for the bottom spot in the East.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, YES (New York), MASN (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Luis Severino (5-3, 2.77 ERA) vs. Orioles LH Wei-Yin Chen (10-8, 3.35)
Severino figures to be on a short leash as the team keeps him fresh for what it hopes will be an extended run through the postseason. The 21-year-old is 2-0 in his last three starts and spun six scoreless frames in a win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Severino is making his first start against Baltimore and is 2-1 with a 2.43 ERA on the road.
Chen is finishing up a solid campaign and needs five strikeouts on Friday to set a career high, surpassing the 154 he managed as a rookie in 2012. The Taiwan native punched out seven in each of his last two turns and has allowed two or fewer runs in three straight. Chen's last poor outing came at New York on Sept. 7, when he was reached for five runs – four earned – and nine hits in five innings without factoring in the decision.
WALK-OFFS
1. Yankees CF Jacoby Ellsbury and 3B Chase Headley both sat out on Thursday due to back pain.
2. Baltimore 3B Manny Machado is 4-for-8 with three home runs, four RBIs and four runs scored in the last two games.
3. Thursday's triumph marked the 10,000th regular-season win in franchise history for New York.