The Baltimore Orioles have played better since getting swept in a four-game series against the New York Yankees from May 1 to 4, but it would’ve been hard not to. They got outscored 39-10 over those contests and lost the final two by a combined score of 23-4.
After that, the Orioles won two out of three games against the Miami Marlins before losing two out of three to the Athletics. They’re fourth place in the AL East at 18-23, while the Yankees are second at 26-15.
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The two teams will meet again in a three-game series starting on Monday, this time at Baltimore’s Camden Yards. The first series was at Yankee Stadium, and the Orioles must have a better showing in front of their home fans.
Baltimore Orioles pitcher Brandon Young (63). © Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
One of the main culprits for Baltimore in the first New York series was its starting pitching. Southpaw Cade Povich allowed five runs over four innings in the 7-2 loss on May 1, right-hander Kyle Bradish did the same in the 9-4 loss on May 2, right-hander Trey Gibson allowed three runs over 4.2 innings in the 11-3 defeat on May 3, and right-hander Shane Baz allowed six runs (five earned) in 5.2 innings during the 12-1 loss on May 4.
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Povich (shoulder) is now on the 15-day injured list, while Gibson last pitched out of the bullpen in Friday’s 4-3 loss to the Athletics. The Orioles will start right-hander Brandon Young on Monday and Bradish on Wednesday, while Tuesday’s starter is undecided.
Young is 3-1 with a 4.35 ERA over four starts this season. The 27-year-old is getting more reps after making his first 12 big-league starts last year, as ace Trevor Rogers (illness) and right-hander Dean Kremer (quadriceps) are both on the 15-day injured list in addition to Povich, per MLB.com. Fellow starter Zach Eflin (elbow) is also out for the season after getting Tommy John surgery.
Meanwhile, Bradish is 1-5 with a 4.83 ERA over eight starts. However, the 29-year-old is coming off his best outing of the year, as he gave up three runs over seven innings on Friday. Baltimore needs him to keep that momentum going against a Yankees offense that ranks third in baseball in OPS (.775) and first in homers (63).
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On the bright side, Rogers is having conversations with the Orioles about returning for the upcoming series, per MLB.com’s Jake Rill. The southpaw is 2-3 with a 4.75 ERA over six appearances, but a quality start against an elite New York squad would be a step in the right direction.
Overall, it’s going to be hard for the Orioles to keep up if the Yankees continue to tally runs. Having better pitching than the last matchups is the first step to success.
Monday’s game starts at 6:35 p.m. ET.
