The Yankees walked into Baltimore needing to take care of business, and they walked out with a sweep.
New York finished off the Orioles with a convincing 6-1 win Thursday night, completing a 3-game sweep at Camden Yards and improving to 72-55 on the season.
And unlike the drama that surrounded Wednesday night’s finish, there wasn’t much for anybody to argue about in this one.
The Yankees got strong starting pitching from Gerrit Cole, 11 hits from the offense and another dominant bullpen performance. By the time Baltimore came to bat in the bottom of the 9th, this game was already finished.
Gerrit Cole Sets the Tone
Cole gave the Yankees exactly what they needed.
The right-hander went 6 innings, allowing just 4 hits and 1 run while striking out 8 and walking only 1. He threw 93 pitches, 70 of them for strikes, and improved to 7-6 with a 3.11 ERA.
Baltimore’s only damage against him came on a solo home run by Dylan Beavers in the 5th.
Outside of that? Cole controlled the game.
He also moved past Roger Clemens on the Yankees’ all-time strikeout list. Cole now has 1,015 strikeouts as a Yankee, putting him alone in 12th place in franchise history.
That’s a pretty nice milestone to pick up while finishing off a division rival on the road.
The Yankees broke through in the 3rd inning after Spencer Jones and Austin Wells opened the frame with singles. José Caballero then hit a grounder to second that should have produced an out, but Gunnar Henderson couldn’t handle the throw at second. Jones scored on the play, Wells moved up and Caballero reached safely, giving New York a 1-0 lead.
After a double play moved Wells to third, Ben Rice delivered an RBI single to make it 2-0. Heliot Ramos followed with an RBI double to right, scoring Rice and pushing the Yankees’ lead to 3-0.
Jones launched his 6th home run of the year to left-center, giving New York a 5-1 lead and knocking Kyle Bradish out of the game.
Jones had himself a night, finishing 3-for-4 with the home run, 2 runs scored and his 7th stolen base. García was just as productive, going 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored.
He replaced Cole in the 7th and retired all 9 Orioles he faced, throwing 3 perfect innings with 4 strikeouts to earn his 3rd save.
Cole and Yarbrough combined to hold Baltimore to just 4 hits, 1 walk and 1 run while striking out 12.
That’s domination.
A Sweep the Yankees Needed
The Yankees are now 72-55 and have pulled within 4 games of the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.
There is still work to do, but sweeping 3 games on the road in August is exactly how you start putting pressure on the team in front of you.
More importantly, New York didn’t squeak through this series with one player carrying the entire offense. Rice contributed. Ramos contributed. García had another big game. Jones continues to show why the Yankees want his bat in the lineup. Cole handled the pitching side.
That’s a much healthier formula.
Now the Yankees head back home, where Cam Schlittler is scheduled to start Friday night against Toronto.
The division race isn’t over.
After this trip to Baltimore, it’s getting a little more interesting.
Born in Manhattan, New York, Felix Pantaleon is a Dominican-American digital content creator and the founder of NYYNEWS, one of the first and longest-running independent New York Yankees content creator platforms, active since 2005.
