Baltimore Orioles and NY Yankees: Biggest Series of the Year
Jul 12, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher
Wei-Yin Chen(16) pitches during the third inning against the Washington Nationals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
The Baltimore Orioles series with the New York Yankees that begins tonight in the Big Apple will be the biggest series of the year so far. There will be more important games to come, but none have been more significant prior to this date.
The Orioles simply must have some success against their division-leading foe. Were the Yanks to sweep the Birds (perish the thought!), it would drop the O’s to seven games behind. That is getting to be a pretty significant hole to have to climb out of (though not impossible). Losing two games would not be good, but neither would it be devastating. Winning two games only closes the standings gap by a single game, but that is acceptable at this point. An O’s sweep is the best of all scenarios, but obviously that is something difficult to accomplish.
The Orioles and Yankees have already played 10 games against each other this season – each team winning five times. After this series, the Orioles will not actually face New York until September 7th through 9th – again at Yankee Stadium. And then the Orioles will finish the entire season with a final three games against the Yankees in Baltimore.
Every year it looks like the Yankees simply have to fall apart; their guys are too old, or they seem to have too many injuries. But somehow they manage to compete. And their offense has been particularly and surprisingly good, ranking high in most categories in the American League. Here are their rankings as compared to the Orioles…
| R | H | Avg | OBP | HR | |
| Yanks | 2 | 6 | 7 (.253) | 4 (.322) | 2 (120) |
| O’s | 6 | 7 | 4 (,257) | 8 (.312) | 4 (113) |
The Baltimore Orioles team ERA of 3.73 is good for sixth in the American League, whereas the Yankees rank 11th at 3.91. The teams rank a bit closer in terms of batting average against, at eighth and ninth at .248 and .253. The Orioles have walked 32 more batters than the Yankees, and therefore the WHIP is slightly in favor of New York – 1.26 to 1.27. Even with Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller in the bullpen, the Orioles have the better relief ERA of 2.84 to 3.36.
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So overall, the Orioles might have a slight pitching edge, whereas the Yankees have been one full click better at the plate – enough to be, say, about four games ahead of the Orioles!
The series comes down to who can get the best pitching to keep the other team off the board. Wei-Yin Chen (4-5, 2.78) has been saved to start this series, and he will be opposed by Nathan Eovaldi (9-2, 4.50). Man, those are some weird comparison numbers that are upside-down!
Eovaldi has pitched twice against the Orioles this season, giving up five runs on 14 hits in 10.2 innings. Manny Machado, Jimmy Paredes and Caleb Joseph have homered off him.
In 11 games against the Yankees in his career, Chen is 3-4 with a 4.76 ERA. He has not been hit hard, but he has yielded too many big home runs and walks.
Winning this first game would be a big deal for the Orioles.