The Baltimore Orioles were excited about outlasting the host New York Yankees in an extra-inning thriller on Wednesday.
On Thursday afternoon, the Orioles get a chance to win a record 22nd straight series against an American League East opponent when they oppose the Yankees for the finale of a three-game series.
The Orioles evened the series Wednesday by holding on for a 7-6 victory after Cedric Mullins hit a tiebreaking double in the 10th inning off Clay Holmes, stole third and scored on a throwing error by New York catcher Jose Trevino.
Mullins’ clutch hit occurred after Yennier Cano and Craig Kimbel combined to blow a four-run lead the Orioles took on a two-run homer by Ramon Urias in the fifth inning along with a pair of run-scoring doubles from Ryan O’Hearn and another from Ryan Mountcastle that put Baltimore up 5-1.
Cano gave up a three-run homer to Giancarlo Stanton in the seventh inning, and Kimbrel allowed a tying single to Stanton in the ninth before moving to extra innings.
“It’s a big win,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “You know things were going well and then they weren’t. That seventh inning, just a couple of misplays or plays that we normally make and Stanton hits the big homer there. But in the end we made some plays and they made some plays, too.
“Really happy with how we battled, we competed. You can give up the lead and continue to fight offensively. It shows a lot about our club and it was a heck of a win.”
Baltimore is 4-2 against the Yankees this season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles can break a tie for the longest streak of series wins vs. division foes since divisions were created in 1969, having already equaled the mark shared by the Atlanta Braves (1998-2000), Milwaukee Brewers (1991-92) and Cincinnati Reds (1975, 1969-70).
The Yankees are attempting to avoid dropping a second straight series as they enter play Thursday with four losses in their past six games. New York, which has 14 victories in its past 20 games, has not lost consecutive series all season.
Playing without Aaron Judge on Wednesday, the Yankees finished with nine hits, eight of them after the fifth inning. Judge was held out as a precaution after getting hit on the left hand in the third inning on Tuesday by a pitch from Albert Suarez. The Yankees are unsure if he will sit again in the series finale.
“Seemed better but not much to report on over the last several hours and during the game,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I would say (Thursday is) a maybe. We’ll see how we look when we come in.”
Yankees right-hander Luis Gil (9-1, 2.03 ERA) will start on Thursday, looking to join the Kansas City Royals’ Seth Lugo and the Philadelphia Phillies’ Ranger Suarez as the third 10-game winner in the majors this season. Gil is 9-0 with a 1.64 ERA over his past 11 starts and has allowed one run or none in nine of those outings.
Gil last pitched on Friday in an 8-1 win at Boston, when he allowed one run on four hits in five innings while throwing a career-high 104 pitches.
Gil pitched two-hit ball for 6 1/3 shutout innings to earn a win on May 1 in Baltimore. He is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two career starts against the Orioles.
Left-hander Cole Irvin (6-3, 3.03 ERA) will get the ball for the Orioles. In his most recent outing, he yielded four runs (three earned) on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings during a 6-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves on June 13.
Irvin did not face the Yankees when the teams met in Baltimore earlier this season. The left-hander is 0-2 with an 8.31 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against New York.
–Field Level Media
