Yankees conclude series with Orioles (Jul 31, 2018)
NEW YORK -- With the trade deadline behind them, the New York Yankees can re-direct their focus northward on attempting to catch the Boston Red Sox.
The Yankees get four chances this weekend in Fenway Park, but first, there is the business of trying to beat the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday afternoon in the finale of a two-game series at Yankee Stadium.
"No, I don't like our position, I want to be where they're at right now," Yankees GM Brian Cashman said of the Red Sox. "I'm watching them. Obviously, (they made) a lot of improvements. They're the team we're chasing. They're the team I want to pass."
The Yankees are five games behind Boston after completing their trades to land Zach Britton, J.A. Happ and Lance Lynn. Britton has made two appearances so far while Lynn is expected to add depth to a potent bullpen, and the Yankees hope Happ will bolster the rotation, though he is experiencing hand, mouth and foot disease -- the same condition keeping Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard sidelined.
"Cash and the front office went out and got some significant pieces to what we hope will finish off our club and put us in a position to finish what's been the start to a really good season for us," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "We're through deadline now and it's really exciting going forward with this club and the opportunity we have in front of us."
The Yankees improved to 6-5 against the Orioles by getting a 6-3 win on Tuesday. Masahiro Tanaka pitched six scoreless innings while rookie Miguel Andujar hit a three-run homer off former Double-A teammate Yefry Ramirez. Andujar enters Wednesday with 47 extra base hits in his first 99 games and is batting .330 (29-for-88) in his last 24 games.
Baltimore is on the opposite end of the trading spectrum after trading several players who helped the Orioles post four winning seasons since 2012. The Orioles dropped to 32-75 after a modest three-game winning streak was halted.
"I think the guys kind of know that some changes are coming," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "We control it. It's kind of self-inflicted. If we played better, we wouldn't have to do this. I look at it as there's a certain accountability for that. If we played better, we wouldn't be having to make those deals that the club had to make today."
The Orioles headed to New York having already dealt Manny Machado, Britton and Brad Brach. Before the Tuesday's deadline, they sent Kevin Gausman and Darren O'Day to the Atlanta Braves and Jonathan Schoop to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Gausman was 5-8 with a 4.43 ERA in 21 starts this season and 39-51 with a 4.22 ERA in 150 appearances (127 starts) since making his major league debut in 2013. Schoop batted .244 this season with the Orioles and .261 in 695 games since also reaching the majors in 2013.
"I'm excited for them individually," Showalter said. "I think they're as good a people as they are players. We've got some really good players back, I'm sure, and things that we need to go forward, so it's one of those things that was necessary."
On Wednesday, New York's Sonny Gray (8-7, 5.08 ERA) will attempt to win a fourth straight start for the second time in his career. He also did it July 3-26, 2014, when he was 5-0 with a 1.03 ERA in five starts.
This time, Gray is 3-0 with a 1.10 ERA in his last three starts since pitching two innings July 6 at Toronto. He allowed nine hits in those three outings, struck out 19 and threw 61 percent of his pitches for strikes.
Gray last pitched Thursday when he allowed three hits in five scoreless innings of a 7-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. The right-hander threw 75 pitches but exited after fielding a comebacker off his right thumb.
Gray began this streak by pitching six scoreless innings against Baltimore and is 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA against the Orioles this year. In his career, Gray is 5-4 with a 4.07 ERA in nine starts against Baltimore.
Alex Cobb (2-14, 6.08) starts for the Orioles. Since getting his second win on June 5 in Queens against the New York Mets, Cobb is 0-7 with a 5.96 ERA in his last nine starts.
Cobb last pitched Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays when he allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits in six innings of a 4-3 loss. It was the 16th time in 19 starts Cobb was provided with three or fewer runs of support.
The right-hander is 6-4 with a 4.26 ERA in 14 career starts against the Yankees.
