Nothing seems to faze the Baltimore Orioles these days.
The first-place Orioles will try to put more distance between themselves and the American League East’s last-place team, the New York Yankees, when the teams meet Saturday night in Baltimore.
“Amazing,” Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander said. “We stay confident.”
Baltimore won series opener 1-0 on Friday when Santander belted a walk-off home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. The teams waited through more than a 2 1/2-hour delay prior to the first pitch, and the game ended after midnight.
The Yankees have lost five times this season by shutouts. The Orioles have won five times, including Friday, via a walk-off.
“Tough after a long night here,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “But we have to get back on the horse (Saturday) and get after it.”
New York needs a jolt, and the Yankees hope that slugger Aaron Judge can provide it.
Boone said that Judge, who played Friday night for the first time since June 3, could be in right field on Saturday. Judge went 0-for-1 with three walks as a designated hitter in his first game back. He had been sidelined due to a torn ligament in his right big toe.
“It’s definitely good to get him back in there,” Boone said. “The presence he has in our lineup.”
Boone said it was good that Judge saw a lot of pitches and had good awareness of the strike zone in his return to the team.
Judge said he knows his role is to drive in runs and help spark the Yankees’ offense.
“I’m just hoping to mix back into this lineup and be (part of the) supporting cast,” he said. “Go up there, drive guys in.”
The Orioles are trying to find new ways to bolster their lineup as well. In a rarity, both Ryan O’Hearn and Ryan Mountcastle were in the starting lineup on Friday night. That evolved with Mountcastle now back for a couple of weeks since a bout with vertigo.
“Love the way Mountie is swinging the bat since he has gotten back,” said Baltimore manager Brandy Hyde, who used the duo in the Nos. 4 and 5 spots in the lineup. “It’s a nice little combination there.”
Mountcastle had one of the Orioles’ four hits on Friday. The Yankees also were held to four hits.
The Yankees will have right-hander Clarke Schmidt (6-6, 4.33 ERA) as their starting pitcher on Saturday. He is aiming for his fifth consecutive victory and hasn’t been pinned with a loss since June 6.
Schmidt took a 3-1 home loss against Baltimore on May 25 when he allowed one run in five innings. He has a 2-2 record and 4.09 ERA in eight games, three starts, in his career against the Orioles.
Baltimore will turn to right-hander Tyler Wells (7-5, 3.65 ERA), who has won only one of his past four decisions. During that six-game stretch, he has surrendered seven home runs in 29 1/3 innings. He hasn’t made it through five innings in either of his past two starts after going at least five innings in his first 18 games of the season.
This might not be an ideal matchup for Wells, who is 0-4 with a 4.95 ERA in 13 career appearances, seven starts, vs. the Yankees. That’s the most losses vs. any team for Wells. This year, he is 0-1 with a 5.82 ERA in three starts against New York.
–Field Level Media
