Yankees at Orioles
Having lost five consecutive series to American League East rivals, the Baltimore Orioles turned to a familiar formula in an effort to halt the streak. The Orioles smacked four home runs in an 8-0 beating of the visiting New York Yankees on Friday and can clinch a series victory with another win on Saturday.
The Orioles have clubbed a major league-leading 213 homers and became the 19th team in history to feature at least six players with 20 blasts when Pedro Alvarez launched a two-run shot on Friday. Adam Jones returned to the lineup after missing five games with a hamstring injury and recorded a pair of hits as Baltimore remained tied with Detroit for the second AL wild card. The Yankees managed only two hits in their second shutout loss to Baltimore in six days and fell 3 1/2 games behind the Orioles in the wild-card race. CC Sabathia will be making his fifth start this season versus Baltimore as he opposes Kevin Gausman in a rematch from Sunday.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, YES (New York), MASN (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees LH CC Sabathia (8-11, 4.31 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Kevin Gausman (6-10, 3.73)
Sabathia matched Gausman with five scoreless frames before giving up three runs in his 6 2/3-inning stint to fall to 19-9 with a 3.35 ERA against the Orioles. Oddly enough, Sabathia has tossed 12 scoreless innings in two starts at Camden Yards this season while allowing seven runs to Baltimore in a pair of losses at Yankee Stadium. Manny Machado is 13-for-40 with a homer and seven RBIs against Sabathia.
Gausman produced a superb effort to beat Sabathia and the Yankees, matching his season high with nine strikeouts while allowing seven hits in a 5-0 victory. He has won three straight starts and stretched his scoreless innings streak to 13, having blanked Washington on six hits in his previous turn. Gausman has been outstanding at Camden Yards, logging a 5-1 record and 2.48 ERA in 10 outings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Orioles DH Mark Trumbo, who leads the majors with 41 homers, has gone deep six times in 14 games versus New York this season.
2. Yankees OF Aaron Hicks is expected to be out "for a while" with a hamstring injury, manager Joe Girardi told reporters.
3. Baltimore RHP Chris Tillman, who has recorded 15 wins, is scheduled to come off the disabled list and start on Sept. 11.