The last time the Yankees saw the Orioles, they were left looking up at them in the AL East after a tough showing in Baltimore at the beginning of May.
Seven weeks later, the two best teams in the American League will meet again for another showdown series beginning on Tuesday in The Bronx, giving the Yankees another chance to make a better impression.
But even if the Yankees fare better in this one, the Orioles are likely not going anywhere anytime soon, as the two division rivals look primed to be battling for AL East supremacy all summer long.
“I think both teams have clearly established themselves as really formidable,” manager Aaron Boone said before Monday’s off day. “But at the same time, it is a marathon. That cliché is very true and we got a long way to go in all of this. All we can say right now is I think both teams are really good, really dangerous with a lot of potential.”
The Yankees entered the first meeting leading the Orioles by a game in the division, and after the four-game series that featured three tight games and three Yankees losses, they trailed the Orioles by a game.
Since then, the Yankees have gone 30-11 — the best record in the majors during that span, despite going 5-5 in their last 10 games — and yet they still only lead the Orioles by 1 ¹/₂ games atop the division.
The Orioles went 27-13 during that span, the majors’ second-best record.
Two key differences for the Yankees this time around? Aaron Judge is looking like Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole, the reigning AL Cy Young winner, is now set to make his season debut Wednesday.
By the end of the first series against the Orioles, Judge and Boone were both facing more questions about the slugger’s quiet start to the season.
Judge was batting just .197 with a .725 OPS and six home runs through 33 games.
He began setting the world on fire a few days later and has not stopped since, entering Tuesday batting .299 with a 1.110 OPS and a major league-leading 26 home runs on the year.
Judge went 1-for-13 with two walks in the first Orioles series, though he was far from alone in that regard as Baltimore pitchers held the Yankees to just six runs and a .177 batting average during the four-game set. They will have a chance for redemption beginning Tuesday.
“Looking forward to it,” Judge said Sunday after the Yankees dropped a second straight game to the Red Sox. “Another great ballclub. Excited to see them in The Bronx. It’s going to be a fun series, fans are going to be excited, so looking forward to it after the off day.”
During the first series, the Orioles pitched Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Corbin Burnes and Kyle Bradish.
Kremer and Bradish are now on the injured list, which also includes Baltimore starters John Means and Tyler Wells, who have both undergone season-ending elbow surgeries in recent weeks.
It remains to be seen when or if Bradish (UCL sprain) will be back.
This time around, the Orioles are set to roll out Albert Suarez, Cade Povich and Cole Irvin as their starters, though they have kept humming along while leaning on the majors’ highest-scoring offense (their 5.13 runs per game, just ahead of the Yankees’ 5.05).
“They’ve had some injuries happen to their rotation, but their depth has served them well,” Boone said. “They continue to get good starting pitching. They’ve been able to close out games. And they have a versatile and dynamic offense. They can beat you with power, beat you with speed, they can match up against you. They have a few guys they platoon with that are impactful against the other hand. They’re a complete team, no doubt.”
