Yesterday the New York Yankees got a big win in a makeup game with the Minnesota Twins. It was hoped that the dramatic come from behind walk-off win would propel them into another winning streak where they would again win series and maintain their wild-card berth. Today at Camden Yards, they will start a three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles.
This is a series that the Yankees should sweep, except that they haven’t played particularly well against them this season, even though the Orioles will lose at nearly 110 games. The Yankees are 9-4 off the Orioles this season, not sweeping a single series.
Tonight, September 14, 7:05 pm EDT
Tonight the Orioles will send lefty Alexander Wells to face Yankee ace, Gerrit Cole. Wells is 1-2 with an elevated 7.15 ERA and 17 strikeouts in seven games. This is his fifth start of the season. He has gone into the sixth inning in only one of those starts. He is coming off a September 7th win over the Kansas City Royals when he gave up 2 earned runs in four innings of work. Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton, and DJ LeMahieu all have a .500 batting average off him in two at-bats.
Wells will face Gerrit Cole in his first start since pulling himself from a game against the Toronto Blue Jays with left hamstring tightness. Cole is 14-7 with an ERA of 2.78 and an incredible 217 strikeouts. Only Zack Wheller has more at 125. Cole is tied for the 3rd most wins in all of baseball. The Oriole players have not hit well off of Cole; only Ryan Mountcastle has a .250 average off him in 8 at-bats.
Wednesday, September 15, 7:05 pm EDT
Wednesday is Roberto Clemente Day across baseball. The evening game will be started by the Orioles’ John Means. The lefty Means is considered the Orioles ace. He is 5-7 with an ERA of 3.42 and 114 strikeouts in 22 starts. He got no-decisions in both of his games against the Yankees this season. He is coming off his seventh loss of the season against the Kansas City Royals. Both Brett Gardner and Gio Urshela have been particularly successful off of Wells. They both have a .429 average off him in seven at-bats.
The New York Yankees, as of this writing, have not announced a starter for this game. However, it will most likely be Jordan Montgomery or Nestor Cortes Jr.
Thursday, September 16, 5:05 pm EDT
Chris Ellis will start Thursday afternoon’s game for the Orioles. The righty is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 18 strikeouts in five games. The Orioles won his only start against the Yankees on September 5th. Ellis started his season with the Tampa Bay Rays. His only win of the season was while with the Rays. Several Yankees have never faced Ellis, but Aaron Judge has hit .500 off of him.
The Yankees have also not announced a starter for this game, but it will likely be whoever doesn’t start Wednesday’s game. All three of these games will be televised on the YES Network and MASN in Baltimore.
When the Yankees complete this series, they will return to Yankee Stadium for a three-game series with the Cleveland Indians. That will be followed by a three-game series with the Texas Rangers before going on the road to play the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays. Then, finally, they will end the season back at Yankee Stadium for a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays.