The New York Yankees barely squeaked by the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday evening by a score of 5–4. The Bombers have won the first two games of the series against the Orioles and have continued their incredible stretch of success.
Jameson Taillon started for the Yankees on the mound but ran into a bit of trouble along the way, tossing just 82 pitches and striking out two batters before being pulled in the 5th inning. Offensively, the Yankees were quiet as a whole, except for slugger Aaron Judge.
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Good news and bad news for the Yankees:
Over 5.0 innings, Taillon allowed six hits and three earned runs, including a HR to Ramon Urias. Taillon hosts a 3.28 ERA this season. While he’s not striking out an exorbitant amount of batters, he’s generating weak contact for outs. His 6.81 strikeouts per nine rate is the lowest in his career, but he does have an 81.2% left on base rate.
After the Yankees pulled Jamo in the 5th, star relief pitcher Michael King entered the game. King struck out six batters over 3.0 innings, tossing 38 pitches. King has been phenomenal this season, earning a 1.40 ERA.
“He’s been one of the best relievers in the league, especially considering the amount of innings we’ve been able to get from him,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Really impact innings.”
Manager Aaron Boone brought in Aroldis Chapman to help close out the game in the 9th, and after allowing three hits and nearly blowing the save, he managed to get out of trouble thanks to a fly ball that was caught by DJ LeMahieu in foul territory.
Chapman has been unreliable the past few games, hosting a 6.75 ERA in the month of May with nine hits and four earned runs allowed over 5.1 innings.
Offensively, the Yanks put together a solid performance thanks to Aaron Judge. He finished the day with four hits, three RBIs, and two home runs. Judge just barely missed a third homer in the 1st inning, rattling off the left-field wall. In 29 of 30 Major League ballparks, it would’ve been a homer, but the Orioles’ shifting outfield stole one away.
With the team clicking on all cylinders, the Yankees are incredibly difficult to beat, especially when Judge is playing like this.