Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees: Three Things to Watch in Weekend Series

The Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees are set to start a three-game series over the weekend in the Bronx, which will feature the two best teams in the American League East.

It has been a good start to the season for both the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles have received great starting pitching and their typically stellar bullpen work.

The Yankees’ rotation started with a few bumps, especially Masahiro Tanaka‘s first start, but has now righted itself. They also have seen the powerful bat of Aaron Judge come to life, with seven home runs on the year.

The Orioles come in with a 14-6 record, best in the American League. The Yankees are 13-7, one game behind Baltimore.

Let’s take a look at three important factors to this series.

Putting up the Runs

The offense in the American League East has seemed to be off this year. The Toronto Blue Jays are obviously struggling, and the Boston Red Sox are missing David Ortiz.

Let’s look at it statistically. The AL average for runs scored is 4.14 runs per game. The Blue Jays are 13th at 3.55, the Red Sox are 12th at 3.71, and the Orioles are tenth at 3.95.

The Rays are sixth at 4.43, and the Yankees are second at 4.90. So, maybe it is the offensives that were expected to be good that are struggling.

The Orioles’ leading hitter is Welington Castillo, who is hitting .300. The Yankees have three hitters hitting over .300, but also are getting next to nothing from their first baseman, and Brett Gardner is also not hitting well. Of course, Mark Trumbo is hitting below .200, and Manny Machado is hovering just above it.

It will be intriguing to see if these trends continue, or if the Orioles can put up some runs while also keeping the Yankees off the scoreboard.