New York Yankees O's-o close to a Series Win in Baltimore

Heading into the weekend the Bronx Bombers were fighting through some rough starting pitching and playing in a dome that causes every pop-fly to be a nightmare. When they arrived in Baltimore, their starting pitching continued to struggle. Going against an Orioles team that had yet to lose a game, the Yankees had a tough series ahead before they could set their sights on going home.

Let’s take a look at how they did...

Game 4: Friday April 7th, 2017

At Baltimore Orioles (Game 1)

Yankees got off to a good start and while they didn't break the game open, they made Orioles starting pitcher, Jimenez, work by working counts; forcing him to throw 30 pitches. But he seemed to settle down from there. Luis Severino started for the Yankees and his defense didn’t do him any favors. Bird had a chance on 2 balls and Castro botched another. Headley had a chance to turn a double play but hit Adam Jones in the back of the head when trying to double him up. Severino worked his way out of it and showed a lot of grit by only giving up 1 run. After that, Severino cruised until 2 outs in the 5th when Machado, who had 2 K’s, finally broke through with a 3 run HR. With the lead, Girardi turned to his bullpen, which was very reliable in Tampa but everything fell apart when Tyler Clippard surrendered a 2 run shot that ultimately gave the O’s a comeback victory.

Everyone’s Hero: Brett Gardner was the ultimate leadoff hitter by going 3 for 3 with a double, stolen base and a run scored.

Damn Yankee: Tyler Clippard gave up the first runs this year for the Yankees bullpen and it cost them the game.

Final: Yankees lose 6-5

Game 5: Saturday April 8th, 2017

At Baltimore Orioles (Game 2)

Masahiro Tanaka struggled mightily in his last start and while he wasn’t as bad this time around, he gave up 6 hits, 4 walks and 3 runs in 5 innings. Not only will it be difficult for the Yankees to win games if their ace isn’t pitching like an ace, but the bullpen will suffer. And suffer it did. As the Tanaka left the mound with a 4-3 lead, the tiring bullpen coughed up the lead on poor performances by Tommy Lane and Dellin Betances. The offense didn’t help much as they only managed to score 4 runs, with a paltry 2 for 8 with runners in scoring position. For the second straight game, the Yankees had the lead and blew it. To add injury to insult, Greg Bird is day-to-day with an ankle injury and Gary Sanchez was placed on the 10-day DL.

Everyone’s Hero: Starlin Castro was admirable in the loss going 2 for 4, including a 2 out RBI

Damn Yankee: Tommy Lane came into the game, gave up a HR and left the game without recording an out.

Final: Yankees lose 5-4

Game 6: Sunday April 9th, 2017

At Baltimore Orioles (Game 3)

C.C. Sabathia has been the only good starting pitcher, after one turn through the rotation. Giving the Yankees 6 solid innings and only surrendering 3 runs should be good enough for a win. Unfortunately the offense did him no favors. Things weren’t looking good for the Yankees, who entered the 6th down 3-0, but with Romine and Judge on base, Ronald Torreyes ripped a triple to right-center field to clear the bases. As it appeared the Yankees would lose yet another 1 run game in Baltimore, down 3-2 in the top of the 9th inning, Aaron Judge hit a game tying solo home run. Starlin Castro, with 2 runners on, and no outs, hit a single up the middle to score Ellsbury (who was pinch running for Holliday) to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. And they weren’t done there! Tacking on an additional 3 insurance runs, the Yankees left the top half of the 9th with a 4 run lead. Even though it was a non-save situation, Girardi wasn’t going to take any chances by bringing in Chapman to seal the deal. Also of note, Matt Holliday got his steps in by walking 5 times!

Everyone’s Hero: Aaron Judge’s game tying HR in the top of the 9th set the tone for a big comeback win.

Damn Yankee: As good as Gardner was in game 1, he was awful in game 3 as he struck out 3 times while going 0 for 5.

Final: THEEE YANKEES, WIN! 7-3

Series Re-Cap:

• Yankees Lose Series 1-2
• Yankees MVP: CC Sabathia
• Best Team Stat: Offense - 21 walks in 3 games
• Worst Team Stat: Offense - .250 with RiSP (7 for 28)
• Run Differential: +2 (NYY 16 - BAL 14)

The New York Yankees were a couple of hits away from sweeping this series, as they lost two games by 1 run. If you can take a positive from that, the Orioles were undefeated going into the series and the Yankees played them close.

Despite opening the season on the road with a record of 2-4, the Yankees look to bounce back with some home cooking as the Rays visit New York. The 2017 season is front-loaded with games against division rivals so the Yankees need to prevent themselves from falling too far behind before April is over.