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Yankees feast at the table of Oriole’s pitching with four bombs

By Steve Contursi

Starlin Castro (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Starlin Castro (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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The Yankees accomplished what they set out to do in Baltimore, crushing the Orioles in today’s afternoon contest and taking two of the three games to move the team to within 3.5 games of the Red Sox, who are idle today.

The Yankees arrived at Camden Yards on Monday bone tired but emotionally high after beating the Red Sox on Sunday night, arriving at their hotel in the wee hours in the morning, and facing an afternoon contest the same day.

Physically and emotionally, the team was primed for a letdown. Add to the mix that Buck Showalter had his team on a run and moving ever closer to the Yankees in the Wild Card race as the Yankees held no illusions they could be running into a buzz saw.

Except none of these things happened. The team showed up, and now they move on to Texas with the same goal in mind of winning that series, and the one after that until there are no more series to win.

Today, the Yankees put on a display of power that would warm the heart of any fan who likes to refer to the team as the Bombers. Bombs away it was as Chase Headley (12), Todd Frazier (23), Starlin Castro (14), and Guess Who (39) all connected against hapless and ineffective Baltimore pitching.

Sonny Gray pitched into the sixth inning, surrendering the Orioles lone run. And it was only a high pitch count (102) and a commanding lead that encouraged Joe Girardi to remove him from the game in favor of Chad Green, Tommy Kahnle, and Ben Heller, who had no trouble shutting down the bats of the Orioles.

The home run by Aaron Judge was especially pleasing since he hit it to the opposite field, an indication that he is seeing the ball better now and going more with what pitchers are giving him.

Yankees bits and pieces

Today’s game was played amidst the somber news that former Yankees General Manager, Gene Michael had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 79. YGY’s Mike Calendrillo covers that story in depth, here and it’s a must read for fans who don’t know where the Core Four came from. I’ll give you a hint; they didn’t come from Brian Cashman.

More from Yanks Go Yard

The Yankees move in to face a Rangers team that is clinging to life in the race for the second wild card spot. The Rangers season has followed the same pattern as many seasons before where they’re in it, but only slightly in it and never in it to win it.

They’re worth the price of admission, though, just for the chance to watch Adrian Beltre play baseball. He’s one of the most underrated players today, quietly, for example, collecting hit number 3,000 this season. A magician at third base, he is also held in high esteem by his teammates.

The Yankees are primed for the task, however, and they’ll be sending Masahiro Tanaka to the hill on Friday, followed by CY Young candidate, Luis Severino, on Saturday. The series finale starter has yet to be announced. Girardi hinted it probably would be Jaime Garcia, but that could change depending on how the first two games go, with Girardi possibly switching to give one of the call-ups a start.

Over the weekend, the Yankees will probably also learn their fate with regards to the situation in Florida and Irma. They are scheduled to begin play in Tampa on Monday, but those games could be rescheduled for play elsewhere if Florida is under siege.

Next: Yankees chance at division title is more real than you think

Absent from the Yankees lineup today was Greg Bird as Girardi went with the trio of Headley at first, Frazier at third, and Matt Holliday as the DH.

As always, I invite you to share your thoughts and comments about this story or anything Yankees on the Yanks Go Yard Facebook page.

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