Baltimore's roster has been emptied out too, just not by choice. Friday's doubleheader, moved because a nor'easter hit the city, went both ways. The Orioles won the opener 10-2, with Pete Alonso hitting 2 homers to push his AL-leading total to 43 and Jeremiah Jackson hitting the first inside-the-park home run at Yankee Stadium since 2014. They dropped the nightcap 6-3, and that was their 82nd loss, which locks in a second straight losing season.
The Orioles' injury list says plenty about their year. Jackson Holliday has wrist surgery scheduled for next week. Samuel Basallo is on the 7-day IL with a concussion. Blaze Alexander won't come off the IL before the season ends. Kyle Bradish, Ryan Helsley, Jordan Westburg and Keegan Akin are all long since shut down or recovering from surgery. What Craig Albernaz has left is a lineup that can still hit, with Alonso the headliner, and a pitching staff pieced together from whoever is healthy. New York's list is mostly players it's saving for Tuesday: Judge, Stanton and Trent Grisham, plus Clarke Schmidt and Ryan Weathers in the rotation.
Keep an eye on the weather too. The forecast calls for 65 degrees, drizzle, a 41% chance of rain and wind around 19 mph, and a series that already had a doubleheader forced on it could get sloppy again. At this point on the calendar, neither club is going to push to get all 9 innings in through a downpour.
Baltimore has won 4 of its last 5, a better finish than its season deserved, and 3 of those came against Toronto. The Yankees are 3-2 in their last 5 and already looking ahead to October. Sunday won't decide anything. It's a last look at Baz, a chance for Rodríguez to make a late argument for an October role, and nine innings the Yankees mostly need to get through without anyone getting hurt.