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Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees Game 1

By JR·2 min read
Baltimore OriolesBAL(78-81)
New York YankeesNYY(92-67)
AT
4:05 PM ET

TLDR: The Orioles were eliminated Thursday night. Now they get a Friday doubleheader in the Bronx against a Yankees team that is already thinking about October, with CC Sabathia's Monument Park plaque going up before Game 1.

FRI SEP 25, 4:05 PM
Spread
WIN
Total
Orioles
(78-81)
WWWLL
Yankees
(92-67)
WWLWL

An eliminated Orioles team with a depleted lineup visits a Yankees club that is 11-5 over its last 16 and getting ready for the Wild Card round without Judge or Stanton. Brandon Young is coming off a career-best strikeout game for Baltimore, while New York's opener is a patchwork of available arms, so both teams' depth will decide this one more than their stars. The Yankees are favored at home.

Orioles
  • Young just struck out a career-high 9 in 6 innings
  • Won 3 straight vs Toronto
  • Alonso: 9 HR, 19 RBI over his last 26 games
  • Eliminated Thursday night; nothing left to play for
  • Holliday, Basallo, Robert, Mountcastle all out
  • Shut out twice by Milwaukee, 19 scoreless innings
Yankees
  • 11-5 over their last 16 games
  • Lombard Jr. hitting .310 with 4 HR since 9/12
  • Took 3 of first 4 from Tampa Bay
  • Starter TBD; Schmidt and Weathers on IL
  • Judge and Stanton still sidelined
  • Doubleheader stretches a thin pitching staff

Brandon Young (9-5, 3.62) takes the ball for Baltimore in the opener, and his last start was the best of his season. He struck out a career-high 9 Brewers over 6 innings on just 84 pitches and still took the loss, because the Orioles didn't score for him. That happened a lot in Milwaukee's sweep. New York's starter is still TBD on the card. With Clarke Schmidt and Ryan Weathers both on the IL and 18 innings to cover today, the Yankees are patching this together, and the first-pitch arm matters less than who's left for innings 4 through 9.

Brandon Young
Brandon Young
(9-5)·3.62 ERA
Sep 20 vs Brewers
L
6.0IP
2ER
9K
3BB
84P
09/25 Lineup
New York Yankees
TBD
—
TBD
ND
—IP
—ER
—K
—BB
—P
09/25 Lineup

Both lineups are missing big names. Baltimore is without Jackson Holliday (wrist surgery next week), Samuel Basallo (concussion), Luis Robert Jr., Ryan Mountcastle, Tyler O'Neill and Jordan Westburg, so most of the power runs through Pete Alonso. He has 9 homers and 19 RBIs over his last 26 games while hitting .202, which is about how feast-or-famine as it gets. The Yankees are still without Aaron Judge (calf), who says he intends to be ready for Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, and Giancarlo Stanton, who is taking live BP at Double-A Somerset. New York is still the home favorite, and nothing about the Orioles' week argues against that.

Judge's absence hasn't slowed the Yankees much. They're 11-5 over their last 16 and took 3 of the first 4 from Tampa Bay this week. The rookie George Lombard Jr. has been a big reason why. He hit the go-ahead 2-run homer against the Rays on Thursday and is batting .310 with 4 home runs since September 12. The lineup has kept producing without its 2 biggest bats, and that's the most encouraging thing for New York heading into the Wild Card round.

Baltimore Orioles
(78-81)
09/23WvsBlue Jays4-2
09/23WvsBlue Jays4-2
09/21WvsBlue Jays4-3
09/20LvsBrewers0-3
09/19LvsBrewers0-1
New York Yankees
(92-67)
09/24WvsRays6-4
09/23WvsRays9-2
09/22LvsRays1-6
09/22WvsRays2-0
09/20L@Diamondbacks4-8

Baltimore's last 5 games came in 2 very different stretches. The Orioles were shut out twice by Milwaukee and went 19 straight innings without a run. Then they won 3 straight against Toronto, scoring exactly 4 runs each time. None of it saved them. They were eliminated when the White Sox beat Kansas City on Thursday. Alonso's answer was about what you'd expect from a veteran on a 78-81 team: 'whatever we have left in the tank, just empty the tank.'

Baltimore Orioles
(11)
  • 7-Day ILSamuel Basallo (C) — The Orioles placed Basallo (concussion) on the 7-day injured list Wednesday.09/23
  • 10-Day-ILJackson Holliday (2B) — Holliday will undergo left wrist surgery next week.09/23
  • 10-Day-ILBlaze Alexander (3B) — The Orioles placed Alexander on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with low-back discomfort.09/09
  • 10-Day-ILLuis Robert Jr. (CF) — The Orioles placed Robert on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to left hamstring discomfort.09/06
  • 60-Day-ILNewKyle Bradish (SP) — Bradish (abdomen) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Thursday.09/24
  • 60-Day-ILTyler O'Neill (RF) — O'Neill was given a PRP injection in his injured right shoulder recently.09/23
  • 60-Day-ILRyan Helsley (RP) — President of baseball operations Mike Elias said Saturday that Helsley (elbow) will be shut down for the remainder of the season.09/19
  • 60-Day-ILRyan Mountcastle (1B) — Mountcastle (foot/oblique) has resumed a hitting progression.09/08
  • 60-Day-ILColin Selby (RP) — Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Friday that Selby underwent right shoulder surgery Tuesday to repair his labrum and rotator cuff.07/31
  • 60-Day-ILKeegan Akin (RP) — Akin (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday.07/15
  • 60-Day-ILJordan Westburg (3B) — Westburg (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday.05/15
New York Yankees
(7)
  • 10-Day-ILTrent Grisham (CF) — Grisham (hamstring) took part in live batting practice Wednesday.09/24
  • 10-Day-ILAaron Judge (RF) — Judge (calf) said Wednesday that he intends to be ready to play in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series.09/23
  • 15-Day-ILNewClarke Schmidt (SP) — Schmidt could be shut down for the season if he's unable to pitch Thursday.09/24
  • 15-Day-ILFernando Cruz (RP) — On Jomboy Media's "Talkin' Yanks" podcast that Cruz (elbow) has resumed throwing and is doing "pretty well."09/23
  • 15-Day-ILRyan Weathers (SP) — Weathers (forearm) likely won't return in time to pitch again in the regular season.09/19
  • 60-Day-ILGiancarlo Stanton (DH) — Stanton (calf) is taking live batting practice at Double-A Somerset with the possibility of being available in some capacity for next week's AL Wild Card Series.09/23
  • 60-Day-ILKervin Castro (RP) — The Yankees transferred Castro (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.08/26

Saturday's game was moved up because heavy rain is on the way. First pitch is 4:05 PM ET, and the forecast in the Bronx is 69 and cloudy with 15 mph wind and almost no chance of rain for this one. For the Yankees, the real question is health: Judge's calf, Stanton's timeline, Trent Grisham taking live BP and Fernando Cruz throwing again. Winning the game is nice, but getting out of a doubleheader with nobody new hurt matters more.

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