BALTIMORE — When you spend a half day at the ballpark and play two games the only way it’s worthwhile is to cop two victories.
Thanks to the worst team in baseball sitting in Camden Yards’ first base dugout on Saturday the Yankees turned the marathon day into a double-header sweep of the rancid Orioles.
Making the sweep sweeter was the Yankees reducing the Red Sox’s AL East lead to seven games since Sox lost to the Rays. With 33 games remaining the chances of the Yankees stealing the division title aren’t good but it is the closest the Yankees have been to first place since Aug. 2 when they were 6 ½ games out. Because the Yankees were 10 ½ games ahead of the Yankees on Aug. 18 the Yankees have made a significant dent in the Red Sox advantage.
The Yankees’ win also kept them four lengths ahead of the A’s in the race for the top AL wild-card spot.
“We are in a tough stretch right now, a little beat up and guys are grinding away,’’ said Aaron Boone, whose club has Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius and Aroldis Chapman on the DL. “To rack up a couple of wins today is huge for us and hopefully we can finish off a great series [Sunday].’’
J.A. Happ limited the O’s to two runs in six innings in a 10-3 first-game win that featured home runs by Miguel Andujar, Brett Gardner, Gleyber Torres and Aaron Hicks.
Starting for the first time since Aug. 1 Sonny Gray stifled the Orioles, 5-1, in the nightcap. Armed with a crisp slider Gray limited the Orioles to three hits in 6 ¹/₃ innings. He is 10-8 after winning for the first time as a starter since July 26. The 6 ¹/₃ innings are Gray’s longest outing since working 6 ²/₃ frames on June 23 at Tampa Bay.
Boone said Gray is headed back to the bullpen but the right-hander truly believes he is among the elite starters in baseball.
“If I can throw the ball like that I know I can get anybody out,’’ said Gray who fanned seven and walked one. “I am one of the best starting pitchers in the league and I believe that.’’
Austin Romine led the Yankees’ 12-hit attack in the nightcap with two singles and a ninth-inning homer.
The sweep hiked the Yankees’ record to 82-47 and was their seventh in the past eight games against the Blue Jays, Marlins and Orioles.
Gray was replaced by Jonathan Holder after walking Trey Mancini with one out in the seventh and the Yankees leading, 4-0. Holder walked Renato Nunez in front of striking out John Andreoli and Jace Peterson. Tommy Kahnle started the ninth, gave up a run and was relieved by Dellin Betances who got the final two outs and his first save of the season.
Watching Happ dominate after the second inning and the lineup bludgeon four awful Oriole pitchers it was hard to remember the hosts actually led, 2-1, after two frames in the opener. Yet the Yankees scored four in the third, two in the fourth and one in the fifth to break the game open.
“He gave us everything we could have hoped for,’’ Boone said of Happ, who surrendered two runs in the second and nothing across the final four frames.
Andujar, Gardner, Torres and Hicks have been Yankees longer than Happ and they provided the muscle that is on the DL.
“I love that he is on our team and helping us to get to where we want to be,’’ Hicks said of Andujar, who continued to build a strong case for being the AL Rookie of the Year by going 4-for-9 in the two games and raising his average to .300, the RBI total to 70 and the homers to 21.
