Yanks Take Series Opener in Baltimore Behind Gray's Stellar Start

The Yanks were back in action on Friday night as they faced the lowly Baltimore Orioles from Camden Yards. Sonny Gray got the start, and early on it looked as if we were in for another dreadful outing from him after a Machado home run. However, Gray settled down and turned in a great performance, and got just enough help from the offense and bullpen, as the Yankees were able to take the series opener 4-1.

 

Photo Credit: AP Nick Wass

One of the YES Network notes in Gray’s scouting report before the game was that he had not given up a home run on the road all season; which changed rather quickly as Manny Machado went opposite field in the first inning to give the O’s a quick 1-0 lead. Gray didn’t exactly calm down in the second either, throwing 25 pitches and giving up a double and hit by pitch. Yet, once the third inning came Gray was nails, retiring 12 of the final 12 hitters he faced. 

 

Photo Credit: AP Nick Wass

The Bombers got on the board in the third inning with an RBI single by the rookie phenom himself Gleyber Torres, who continues to produce runs out of the nine hole. Gleyber lead off the fifth with a double in his next at-bat but was thrown out at third looking to stretch it to a triple. Gleyber appeared to be safe at third, yet Aaron Boone decided not to challenge the ruling. Despite Gleyber getting thrown out, the Yankees still managed to take the lead off a Greg Bird RBI triple which scored Gardy. 

As Gray continued to roll, the offense continued to tack on runs. Austin Romine remained on fire at the plate, delivering an RBI double on a ball that was smoked to right field. Aaron Judge joined the hit parade by hitting a ball to Mars, putting the lead at 4-1, giving Gray some run support that he is not always accustomed to getting. 

 

Photo Credit: AP Nick Wass

The bullpen did its job as well, as Green, Betances, and Chapman combined for three clean innings to shut the door and give the Yanks a division victory, despite it becoming a bit interesting when Dellin loaded the bases in the eighth with two walks and a hit batter, before ultimately getting out of it. It was a pleasant sight to see the Yanks get the series opener, as they had one of their ugliest series of the year when they faced the O’s back in April in the Stadium.

Winning Pitcher: Sonny Gray (4-4, 5.50 ERA) 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K

Losing Pitcher: Andrew Cashner (2-7, 5.02 ERA) 6.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K

Save: Aroldis Chapman (13)

Notable Players:

Austin Romine: 2-3, RBI

Aaron Judge: 1-5, HR (16) RBI

Gleyber Torres: 2-4, RBI

Brett Gardner: 2-5, SB, R

What’s Next?

The Yankees will be back at it against the Orioles tomorrow afternoon at 4:35 PM ET, as it will be Masahiro Tanaka facing off against Kevin Gausman. Don’t be surprised to see some balls leave the yard tomorrow, as the two starters have combined to give up 23 home runs this season. Something else to watch out for is if Aaron Judge can continue to terrorize the Orioles, as he hit a 438-foot homer on Friday night, and had 11 last year against the O’s. Judge should have plenty of time to get back to that mark against a team that is currently more than 20 games back of the division lead.

Article By: Matthew Luzzi

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