After a thrilling Friday walkoff, the Orioles can claim both the weekend series and the season series against New York tonight.
Last night’s game took a while to finish, but for the fans who waited out the two-and-a-half hour rain delay, it was worth it. Shortly after midnight, Anthony Santander golfed a Tommy Kahnle changeup into the right-field bleachers, giving the Orioles a 1-0 walkoff win. It was a thrilling conclusion to Mo Gaba Day, which also featured 6.1 shutout innings from Grayson Rodriguez and the return to Camden Yards of Adam Jones—and his pies.
With last night’s win, the Orioles pulled to 6-5 on the season against New York, and with just two more games left against the Yankees, they can clinch the season series with a win tonight. If they pull it off, it’d be the first time since 2016.
Tyler Wells (7-5, 3.65 ERA) gets the game ball tonight, his 20th start of the season. After a stellar streak in June-July of eight consecutive starts with two runs or fewer allowed, Wells has had control issues in his last two appearances (against LAD and Tampa Bay). This could—but hopefully is not—a sign of fatigue for the big right-hander, who’s already blown past his career innings maximum. Of Yankees hitters, only two have really good numbers against Wells: Kyle Higashioka (3-for-7, HR) and Aaron Judge (8-for-19, 3 HR). Wells’ biggest hurdle tonight might be himself; a solid outing would be a welcome sight.
Yankees right-hander Clarke Schmidt (6-6, 4.33 ERA) is 1-2 against Baltimore this year, thoug he hasn’t been bad. On April 7, Schmidt gave up four runs in 3.1 innings in a Yankees loss. On May 25, he took a tough-luck L to Kyle Gibson, with just one run allowed in five innings. And on July 4, he beat the Orioles despite allowing two homers and three runs.
Adam Frazier is 3-for-6 against Schmidt. Gunnar and Ryan Mountcastle are both 2-for-7. And Tony Taters, last night’s hero, is 4-for-9. Manager Brandon Hyde is trying something new by batting his switch-hitting All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman in the leadoff spot. Bring on the lefties!
Orioles lineup
1. Adley Rutschman C
2. Gunnar Henderson SS
3. Anthony Santander RF
4. Ryan O’Hearn 1B
5. Ryan Mountcastle DH
6. Adam Frazier 2B
7. Austin Hays LF
8. Colton Cowser CF
9. Ramón Urías 3B
Yankees lineup
1. Gleyber Torres 2B
2. Aaron Judge RF
3. Giancarlo Stanton DH
4. Anthony Rizzo 1B
5. DJ LeMahieu 3B
6. Isiah Kiner-Falefa LF
7. Harrison Bader CF
8. Anthony Volpe SS
9. Kyle Higashioka C