After going winless against the Twins and Astros last week, the Orioles will have to find to find a way to dig themselves out of their current rut in a timely manner as the first place New York Yankees head into town.
The Orioles (25-23) now trail the Yankees by 4.5-games in the standings due to their current seven-game nosedive and have won just three out of their last sixteen contests. First place might slip even further away if they can’t find a way to get out of the quicksand.
The Orioles have recorded an impressive 15-7 mark at home this season, but they have also lost four in a row at Camden Yards. They’ll need more than home field advantage to end their ongoing free-fall.
The Yankees (29-18) have taken advantage of the Orioles recent struggles and now own a cushion between their first-place status and the rest of the pack as we head into the final week of May. After exploding out of the gates in April with a 15-8 record, the Yankees have stayed the course with an impressive 14-10 mark during May and have won five of their last seven contests.
The surging Yankees present yet another tough task for the stumbling Orioles. The Yanks pitching staff owns the second-best WHIP (1.21) and BAA (.231) in the AL while also boasting the fourth-lowest ERA (3.79).
The Orioles will also have their hands full in keeping this dangerous Yankees lineup quiet. They’re tied for third in the AL in homers (71), rank third in batting average (.264), rank second in OBP (.343) and lead the AL in scoring (254 runs- 5.4 runs per game).
This will mark the third Orioles-Yankees clash of the season, with the season series currently split at 3-3. Who will come out ahead over the upcoming three-game set?
Will the O’s recent misery come to an end, or will the Yankees twist the knife a little bit? So many questions surround the Orioles at the moment, and only time will reveal the answers.
Let’s take a look at the starters:
Game One
Dylan Bundy (5-3, 2.92 ERA) will take the mound versus Jordan Montgomery (2-3, 4.30 ERA) in Monday’s Memorial Day matinee.
Bundy recorded a stellar outing during his last start, allowing just two runs on six hits over seven innings against the Twins, but was dealt a tough-luck loss in the 2-0 pitcher’s duel by Ervin Santana. The Orioles young ace has now allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his eleven starts on the year. He’s also been absolutely sensational at Camden Yards this season, going 3-1 with a sparkling 2.16 ERA over five starts.
Montgomery was impressive during his last start against Kansas City and allowed just a single run on two hits over 6 2/3 innings. That effort lowered his ERA for the month of May to 4.44 over four outings. The Yankees promising rookie has allowed three runs or fewer in six of his first eight major league starts.
Game Two
Chris Tillman (1-1, 4.43 ERA) will take on Luis Severino (3-2, 3.11 ERA) in Tuesday’s match-up.
After allowing four runs on nine hits over five innings in his last outing versus the Twins, Tillman has posted a subpar 5.37 ERA over his last three starts. Tillman will be making his fifth start of the season and his fourth start at home. The two-time All-Star has notched a 1-1 record and a 3.94 ERA at home on the year.
Severino dominated the Royals to the tune of four hits over eight shutout innings en route to his third win of the season during his last start. The Yankees should be thrilled with the 23-year-old’s development this season, as he’s now allowed one run or fewer in four of his last six starts. More impressively, Severino has been a road warrior this season and has posted a stellar 2.05 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and .202 BAA in four starts away from Yankee Stadium despite being winless (0-1).
Game Three
Kevin Gausman (2-4, 6.17 ERA) will get the nod against Masahiro Tanaka (5-4, 5.86 ERA) in the series finale on Wednesday.
Gausman has started to turn his season around as of late. After notching a 2.84 ERA over his last two outings, the Orioles flamethrower now owns a decent 1-2 record and 4.50 ERA over five starts this month. Over thirteen career starts versus New York, Gausman has slayed the Yankees to the tune of a 6-3 record and a stellar 2.59 ERA.
Prior to racking up 13 K’s in 7 1/3 innings and allowing one run on five hits during his tough-luck loss against the Athletics in his last start, Tanaka had hit an all-time low. The usually sturdy ace was rocked by the magnitude of allowing fourteen runs on sixteen hits over just 4 2/3 innings combined over his previous two starts (27.03 ERA). As a result of his nightmare turned into reality, Tanaka owns a 7.82 ERA over five starts this month.
Notes
-Bring your glove to the park this weekend. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is tied for the MLB lead in homers (16), ranks fifth in the AL in batting average (.321) and is tied for fifth in the AL in RBI (34).
– Yankees star second baseman Starlin Castro is ranked fourth in the AL in batting average (.325) to go along with ten doubles, seven homers and 28 RBI. Matt Holliday (.264, 9 HR, 30 RBI) and Brett Gardner (.267, 9 HR, 22 RBI) are also in good form for the visitors.
– The Orioles have had mixed results against Severino. Chris Davis (1-for-10), Adam Jones (1-for-8), and Jonathan Schoop (2-for-9) have all struggled against him, while Seth Smith (2-for-5), Mark Trumbo (4-for-8, 2 HR, 3 RBI) and Manny Machado (4-for-11, 3 HR, 5 RBI) have done well. Severino owns a 1-1 record and a 4.74 ERA over four career starts versus Baltimore.
– Tanaka owns a stellar 2.74 ERA over six career starts against the Orioles and despite going just 1-1 during that span, he’s silenced the Orioles big guns in the past. Davis (3-for-15), Machado (4-for-17), Schoop (3-for-17), J.J. Hardy (2-for-11), Jones (4-for-15) and Smith (3-for-12) are a combined 19-87 (.218) against Tanaka.
-Over the first six games versus the Yankees this season, the Orioles are scoring six runs per game (36 total) and are hitting a respectable .262 as a unit. The bad news is that their team ERA versus the Yankees this season stands at a dismal 7.32 to date.
That’s it for now, Orioles fans! Enjoy the series!
