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NEW YORK – The Orioles are going with their right-handed lineup tonight to open their series against the Yankees, which puts Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Ryan O’Hearn and Cedric Mullins on the bench.
Jordan Westburg is leading off and playing second base. Ramón Urías is the third baseman and cleanup hitter. Luis Vázquez is the shortstop.
Coby Mayo gets back into the lineup at first base. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter.
Henderson has a 13-game hitting streak, one short of his career high. He’s batting .396 with seven RBIs and nine runs scored during the streak.
Rutschman has registered a .317 career batting average against the Yankees, the third highest among active players after José Ramírez’s .332 and Jose Iglesias’ .329 in a minimum 150 plate appearances.
Mullins is batting .302/.422/.509 against left-handers. His OBP is tied for 10th highest in the majors. His .931 OPS against lefties leads the Orioles and would be the highest of his career.
Tomoyuki Sugano makes his 15th start tonight. He has a 3.38 ERA and 1.138 WHIP in 80 innings but has failed to complete the fifth inning in his last two appearances. He faced the Yankees on April 28 and tossed five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts.
Aaron Judge went 2-for-3.
The Orioles took two of three from the Yankees, winning 4-3 and 5-4 and losing 15-3 in Kyle Gibson’s first start.
The Orioles are allowing 1.80 fewer runs per game this month than in May, the largest decrease in the majors, according to STATS.
They’ll try again to get within nine games of .500 for the first time since May 11.
Closer Félix Bautista is celebrating his 30th birthday today. Per STATS, he could become the first Oriole to record a save on multiple birthdays. Randy Myers did it in 1996, Tom Niedenfuer in 1987, Tippy Martinez in 1982 and Grant Jackson in 1973.
The Yankees lost six in a row, shut out three consecutive times, before defeating the Angels 7-3 yesterday. They’re in first place with a 43-31 record, including 22-15 at home. Their plus-101 run differential is best in the American League and second in the majors.
Left-hander Max Fried, signed to an eight-year, $218 million contract, is 9-2 with a 1.89 ERA and 0.947 WHIP in 15 starts. He’s surrendered only seven home runs in 95 innings.
Fried has three quality starts this month with four runs in 20 innings. He’s walked four batters and struck out 20. Fried is 4-0 with a 1.45 ERA and 0.900 WHIP in seven starts at Yankee Stadium.
Right-handers are hitting .207/.245/.280 against Fried this season and left-handers are hitting .184/.276/.391.
Fried has made three career starts against the Orioles and posted a 4.05 ERA and 1.100 WHIP in 20 innings. He tossed a complete-game shutout on Aug. 20, 2021 at Camden Yards.
Urías is 3-for-8 against Fried.
Fried’s 1.89 ERA is fourth lowest among pitchers in their first career 15 starts with the Yankees, per STATS. Phil Niekro holds the record at 1.71 in 1984.
Judge has a .740 slugging percentage against the Orioles, the highest by any player against them in a minimum 300 plate appearances. J.D. Martinez (.697), Albert Belle (.687), Miguel Cabrera (.656) and Vladimir Guerrero (.638) are next.
The Orioles are 17-12 against the Yankees since 2023. They’ve gone 6-1-1 the past eight series and have won or split five straight road series, their second-longest streak versus the Yankees after 14 consecutive series from August 1964–May 1969, per STATS.
The Orioles are 6-15 against left-handed starters, including openers.
For the Orioles
Jordan Westburg 2B
Adley Rutschman DH
Ramón Laureano RF
Ramón Urías 3B
Colton Cowser CF
Gary Sánchez C
Coby Mayo 1B
Dylan Carlson LF
Luis Vázquez SS
Tomoyuki Sugano RHP
For the Yankees
Paul Goldschmidt 1B
Trent Grisham CF
Aaron Judge RF
Jazz Chisholm Jr. 3B
Giancarlo Stanton DH
Jasson Domínguez LF
Anthony Volpe SS
Austin Wells C
DJ LeMahieu 2B
Max Fried LHP
