Yankees at Orioles
The New York Yankees are struggling on a season-opening road trip and now have a serious injury concern on their hands heading into the finale of a three-game series at the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, who opened 3-for-20 at the plate, left Saturday's 5-4 loss due to a right biceps strain, the result of a wild swing-and-miss.
Austin Romine replaced Sanchez off the bench and should see plenty of action going forward if the injury is a serious one. New York took a 4-1 lead soon after Sanchez left the game in the fifth but the Orioles rallied to remain the only undefeated team in baseball at 4-0. The comeback win also clinched Baltimore's 10th straight series win at home over the Yankees, a streak that dates back to the start of the 2014 season. The Orioles will lean on left-hander Wade Miley in their bid to open the season with consecutive series sweeps, while CC Sabathia is tasked with trying to end New York's three-game slide.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, MLB Network, YES (New York), MASN (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees LH CC Sabathia (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Orioles LH Wade Miley (2016: 9-13, 5.37)
Sabathia spun five scoreless innings against Tampa Bay in his first start to help New York to its only win on the young season. He will be aiming for career win No. 225 and his 20th - against 10 defeats - in his career versus Baltimore. The 36-year-old is 11-7 with a 3.43 ERA in 23 career outings at Camden Yards and will be wary of Manny Machado (14-for-43 against Sabathia) and Adam Jones (21-for-70, five home runs).
Miley was 2-5 with a 6.17 ERA in 11 starts with Baltimore after being shipped from Seattle at the trade deadline. Included in that stretch were a pair of September starts against the Yankees in which he surrendered seven runs in 11 frames. The 30-year-old was placed on the 10-day disabled list with an upper respiratory infection after allowing eight earned runs in 13 frames during Grapefruit League action.
WALK-OFFS
1. Yankees LF Brett Gardner has hit safely in all five games this season and has three stolen bases over the last two.
2. New York 1B Greg Bird (foot) missed Saturday's contest and is expected to be out for a few days, according to manager Joe Girardi.
3. Machado has a home run, a double, a stolen base and four RBIs in the first two games of the series.