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Yanks Go Yard Radio Show Rewind: Orioles-Yankees Preview (9/7-9/9)

ByRicky Keeler|

On last night’s episode of the Yanks Go Yard Radio Show, I started off the episode by talking about the New York Yankees (76-59) taking two out of three games from the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. The story of the weekend was the offense, which hit five home runs in both wins over the Rays.

Down 3-0 in the sixth inning yesterday and being one hit by Chris Archer through the first five innings, the Yankees’ offense battled and came up clutch as Brian McCann hit a three-run home run and Alex Rodriguez followed up with a home run of his own. New York took a 4-3 lead and did not look back. Despite winning their third consecutive series, the Yankees remain 1.5 games behind the Blue Jays in the AL East.

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Before the Bronx Bombers begin a four game series with the Blue Jays on Thursday, the Yankees will face the Baltimore Orioles (65-71) in a three game series that begins this afternoon. The Orioles were in the mix for the Wild Card about a month ago, but Buck Showalter’s team has lost 14 of their last 17 games and they are a game away from being in last in the AL East.

Despite those struggles, Baltimore still has a good power hitting team. Their 69 home runs since the All-Star Break is tied with the Yankees for the fourth most in baseball over that span. But, their .245 team batting average in the last couple of months is tied for the fifth lowest in the game.

Right now, first baseman Chris Davis (.256, 40 HR, 100 RBI’s) is on a tear at the plate. He is 8-for-19 this month with five home runs and eight RBI’s. Even though Davis is more known for his power, he does have a .292 batting average in the second half of the season and his on-base percentage since the break is .382.

While Baltimore can swing the bat, their starting pitching is a major cause of concern. A few days ago, Miguel Gonzalez went on the 15-day disabled list because of right shoulder tendinitis. The Orioles’ rotation has a starters’ ERA of 4.57, which is the third highest in the American League. The only starter that has an ERA of under four for the Orioles is Wei-Yin Chen (3.36), who gets the start today against New York.

To get more insight on the Orioles, I spoke with Domenic Vadala, the editor of Birds Watcher. Domenic gave his thoughts on Davis’ 40-home run season and why the Orioles could be a dangerous spoiler in September when you consider how they were able to end the Red Sox’ playoff hopes in 2011. Here are more of the topics we talked about:

Reasons for the Orioles’ second half swoon
Manny Machado playing shortstop with J.J Hardy out
Chris Davis has been under the radar, despite hitting 40 home runs
Pitching Matchup Breakdown
Wei-Yin Chen has given up 26 home runs this season, three shy of a career high.
Michael Pineda (today’s Yankees’ starter) has a 5.60 ERA this season against Baltimore (three starts)
Kevin Gausman (tomorrow’s Orioles’ starter) has a 6.28 ERA on the road this year
Masahiro Tanaka (tomorrow’s Yankees’ starter) has seen the offense score 28 runs in his last two outings.
Ubaldo Jimenez (Wednesday’s Orioles’ starter) has 16 walks in his last five starts
What to expect from CC Sabathia in his return to the rotation Wednesday night
Orioles hitters to watch: Ryan Flaherty and J.J Hardy
Yankees hitters to watch: Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran
Baltimore’s experience it has in being playoff spoilers

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