The New York Yankees took a doubleheader from the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, scoring 16 runs over the two games. Yesterday, in the Bronx, the Bronx Bombers squeaked out a one-run walk-off win against the O’s, in the tenth inning of a pitcher’s duel. The Yankees have now won three straight from the Orioles, and today will go for the sweep of the four-game series.
After going 5-20, for a really bad stretch, the Yankees have improved both pitching and the offense. Last week, they saved the finale of the Blue Jays series in Buffalo. They then moved on to a four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. In the series, the Yankees have scored 16 runs to the Orioles 2 runs. Gerrit Cole, on Friday, pitched a complete game, allowing only two hits while striking out 9. It was the first complete game pitched by a Yankee since Masahiro Tanaka’s complete-game shutout, on June 19, 2019, against the Tampa Bay Rays. Masahiro Tanaka and Jordan Montgomery followed in the subsequent games, both pitching stellar games.
Today will be another beautiful day for baseball at the Stadium in the Bronx. It will be a little more cloudy, and a bit more humid than yesterday, but still a great day for baseball. The 1:05 pm game-time temperature will be about 72 degrees with only a slight chance of a passing shower. The game will be televised on the YES Network and MASN2 in Baltimore.
Today, at Yankee Stadium the Yankees will wrap up the four-game set with the Baltimore Orioles, by sending out fourth in the rotation J.A. Happ. Happ has had a mixed season, pitching poorly at the start of the season. However, he pitched well in his last two starts. In his last start, he had one of the better-pitched games by any Yankee pitcher this season, going into the seventh inning allowing two runs while striking out 10 Blue Jays. The Yankees ended up losing the game when the bullpen failed.
Happ is 1-2, with an ERA of 4.31 and 25 strikeouts over six starts. Happ, going into the game with the momentum of two good outings behind him, anything can happen today. Happ has been known for going on a winning tear. In 2018 Happ at the end of the season, won all seven of his last seven starts.
The Yankees will face John Means of the Orioles. Means, on the season, is 1-3, with an ERA 6.58 over seven games. The Orioles lost the first seven of Mean’s starts this season. His best game of the season came last week in a win against the lowly New York Mets. He pitched six solid innings, allowing only one run. Means has only faced the New York Yankees once this season, and it was back on July 30, when he lasted only 2.1 innings, giving up five Yankees runs. Last year, in his All-Star season, he allowed the Yankees three home runs in two games. Several Yankees players have seen Means several times. Brett Gardner hits quite well off of Means in five at-bats against him, Gardner was hitting .400. In lesser at-bats, Kyle Higashioka and Luke Voit have hit .500 off him.
After today’s matinee with the Orioles, the New York Yankees will host the Toronto Blue Jays at the Stadium. Pitching sensation Deivi Garcia will pitch the first game of the three-game series. After that, the Yankees go to Fenway Park for three-game series with the Boston Red Sox, then on to a four-game series in Buffalo and come back home to the Stadium to face the Maimi Marlins, ending the shortened 2020 regular season.