The New York Yankees have hit seven homers in the first two games at Baltimore, and that’s put them in a position to sweep the three-game series when they meet the Orioles on Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
Aaron Judge homered twice (three RBIs), and Clint Frazier hit a three-run shot in the eighth that gave the Yankees a 6-4 victory in Saturday’s game. Judge had not homered before that game, but New York now has 13 homers in its first eight games.
The Yankees have struggled on offense at times but fared much better against the inexperienced Baltimore pitching staff. New York has banged out those seven homers and scored 14 runs in the first two games.
Manager Aaron Boone said after the 8-4 victory on Thursday that he felt like it was just a matter of time before everything came together for his team, despite injuries that have cost them several key players like Giancarlo Stanton, Didi Gregorius and a bunch of others.
“We’re always capable of going on a roll,” Boone said on MLB.com. “Even banged up, I’m confident we can go on a run at any point.”
Domingo German (1-0, 0.00) will start for the Yankees against Baltimore’s David Hess (1-0, 0.00) in this game in a battle of two young pitchers.
German threw five innings in his first start, on April 1 versus the Tigers, and gave up just one unearned run on one hit. He struck out seven and walked five, and this will be his first appearance against Baltimore this year.
Also for German, he’s 0-0 with a 5.06 ERA in two career games versus Baltimore.
Hess threw 6 1/3 no-hit innings in his last start, versus Toronto last Monday, before Orioles manager Brandon Hyde pulled him. The right-hander fanned eight and walked just one in what is probably the best performance of his young major league career.
Hess threw two innings of scoreless relief versus the Yankees on March 28. He has a career record of 0-0 with a 2.57 ERA in two games against New York.
New York selected infielder Gio Urshela from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and signed him to a major league contract Saturday. He came in as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning on Saturday and stayed at third base, going 0-for-2.
The Yankees also optioned infielder Thairo Estrada to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and moved Gregorious to the 60-day injured list. He’s recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Struggling first baseman Chris Davis, 0-for-19 so far this season after a woeful 2018 season, still has the support of Hyde. Davis did not start but came in as a pinch-hitter, knocked in a run on a fielder’s choice and went 0-for-2 on Saturday.
“We’re going to support Chris like I support everybody else,” Hyde told the media earlier. “I couldn’t be happier for what he’s put in so far this year and how he’s gone about his business. It just hasn’t happened yet.”
Trey Mancini continued his hot hitting with his fourth homer of the young season for the Orioles. But Baltimore went just 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position Saturday, which proved costly.
The Orioles rallied from a 3-1 deficit, manufacturing three runs to take a 4-3 lead, which they then could not hold. Baltimore also made a few roster moves since Thursday’s game. The team signed right-hander Dan Straily to a one-year contract and designated infielder Drew Jackson for assignment.
On Wednesday, Baltimore designated pitcher Pedro Araujo for assignment and selected the contract of Matt Wotherspoon from Triple-A Norfolk to replace him. Araujo cleared waivers and went back to the Chicago Cubs — he was a Rule 5 pick. The Orioles then got him back from the Cubs for International Signing Bonus Slots and was assigned to Double-A Bowie.
Wotherspoon cleared waivers on Saturday and got assigned outright to Norfolk.