Yankees split double header in Baltimore, 5-4 and 10-2

GAME ONE

The Yankees dropped game one of today’s double header against Baltimore by a close score of 5-4. CC Sabathia pitched one of his worst games of the season, allowing five earned runs on two homers. The Yankees had opportunities to make a comeback but couldn’t get the job done against the last-place O’s. The Yankees are just 25-14 against teams under .500, which is 15th in the league. When facing teams above .500, they rank best in MLB at 34-16. 

Orioles’ starter Jimmy Yacabonis only made it through five innings, with six hits and three earned runs. Giancarlo Stanton blasted his 22nd home run to lead off the second, reminding everyone to vote for him in the MLB All-Star Final Vote (vote #ASGiancarlo at https://www.mlb.com/all-star/final-vote).

Photo Credit: Mitchell Layton/Getty Images 

The third inning was a big one for the Yanks. They manufactured two runs off of four base hits. Higashioka began the mini-rally with a double, the first in his brief MLB career, followed by a Tyler Wade single. A base running blunder from Higgy at third caught him in a rundown to complete a double play on a groundout from Hicks. The inning appeared to be over, but RBI singles from Aaron Judge and Didi Gregorius made the score 3-0 New York. In the top of the sixth, Neil Walker added an insurance run with an RBI single.

CC Sabathia struggled later in the game. Mike Trumbo answered back with two runs of his own for Baltimore with a two-run bomb in the fourth. However, that wasn’t the worst damage done in CC’s outing. Baltimore took the lead on a three-run home run by RF Danny Valencia on his 99th pitch of the game. Valencia was 0-for-25 before his big hit. Jonathan Holder came in to finish off the sixth. A.J. Cole relieved Holder in the seventh and pitched two scoreless innings, leaving the game within reach of the Bombers.  

Photo Credit: Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

Potential trade target Zach Britton entered with a 5-4 lead in the top of the ninth inning to close out the game. Miguel Andujar came in to pinch hit for Walker. He singled, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. With two outs and Andujar on third, Brett Gardner grounded out to first base. Baltimore won the first game, 5-4. 

GAME TWO

After a disheartening loss to the Orioles in game one, the Yankees took the second game of the day behind a fantastic outing from Luis Cessa. Baltimore’s Yefry Ramirez made his third MLB start, in which he gave up nine hits and four runs in just 4.0 IP. 

Once again, the Yankees struck first, scoring on an RBI double by Gregorius. They had a chance to break open the game with the bases loaded, but Clint Frazier struck out to end the inning. A Gardy Party ensued in the fourth when Brett blasted a 426-foot two-run homer, his seventh of the season. Gardner has had an impressive road trip, both offensively and defensively. Between today’s games and the series in Toronto, he had nine hits, two HRs and seven RBIs. 

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

Giancarlo Stanton’s fourth hit of the day came in the bottom of the fifth frame as a sharp double to left. A wild pitch and RBI single from Greg Bird allowed him to score, giving the Yankees a 4-0 lead. The Yankees weren’t done there, adding four runs in the eighth. Austin Romine hit a long-gone dinger to left to score two. An RBI double from Gardy and an error tacked on two more runs for the Yanks.  

Luis Cessa gave the Yankees exactly what they needed in this game: longevity and control. Cessa brought the Orioles back down to Earth, pitching six shutout innings. The Mexican-born righty walked three, but only allowed three hits and struck out four. Cessa’s impressive fastball and slider in today’s game snapped his streak of 13 consecutive starts without a win. 

In the seventh, Boone handed the ball to another Mexican pitcher, Giovanny Gallegos. He threw a scoreless inning despite walking two batters, thanks to a double play hit by game one’s hero, Valencia. In Gallegos’ second inning, he surrendered a big fly to Tim Beckham, cutting the lead to six runs. 

Unlike game one, the Yankees scored two runs in the ninth. With an eight run lead, Gallegos remained as the pitcher to close out the game, 10-2. 

What’s next?

Masahiro Tanaka (7-2, 4.58) returns from the 10-day DL to oppose Andrew Cashner (2-9, 4.39 ERA) in game three at Camden Yards. Tune in to watch at 7:05 PM ET on MLB Network. 

Article by: Isabella Anton

Follow @isabella_anton Follow @BronxBomberBall