On Thursday, two American League East rivals meet on the diamond when the Baltimore Orioles (31-17, 2nd AL East) play the third and final game of a three-game series in the Big Apple against the New York Yankees (30-20, 3rd AL East). In the opening game of the series on Tuesday, the Orioles were defeated by the Yankees 6-5. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Baltimore but the Orioles have won five of the last seven. New York's victory on Tuesday was its 5th straight and the Yankees have won nine at the last 11. Baltimore will play without two pitchers and third baseman Ramon Urias. New York will play without nine pitchers as well as position players Jose Trevino, Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson.
Baltimore is producing well at the plate
Baltimore trails first-place Tampa Bay by only three games in the AL East and much of that is due to excellent production at the plate. Baltimore is 13th in team batting average at .252 and ninth in both on-base percentage (.330) and slugging percentage (.427). The Orioles have scored 245 runs which is the eighth most in baseball. Cedric Mullins has produced the best at the plate with 12 doubles, three triples, 8 home runs and a team-best 39 RBI. Ryan Mountcastle has been one of Baltimore's most productive hitters with 11 doubles, one triple, a team-best 10 home runs and 34 RBI (2nd). Baltimore has hit 86 doubles, 8 triples and 60 home runs in 48 games.
On the mound, Baltimore is holding its own with a team ERA of 4.05 which is 12th and a WHIP of 1.31, which is 17th. Baltimore's starting rotation has only 13 Quality Starts which is 20th and the pitching staff is allowing opposing hitters to average .252 which is 21st. Grayson Rodriguez is leading Baltimore in strikeouts with 50 and Kyle Gibson has a team-best five wins. Gibson will get the nod on the mound Thursday. This season, the right-hander is 5-3 with an ERA of 4.27 and 41 strikeouts.
Yankees getting it done on the mound and improving at the plate
The New York Yankees have the fifth-best team ERA in baseball at 3.69 and are 7th best in WHIP at 1.24. New York's starting rotation needs improvement as they have just 13 Quality Starts which is 20th but the pitching staff overall is holding opposing hitters to an average of .229 which is the third-best in baseball. Gerrit Cole is the leader in strikeouts for New York with 70 and has a team-best five wins. Clarke Schmidt will get the nod on the mound Thursday for New York. This season the right-hander is 2-4 with an ERA of 6.00 and 54 strikeouts.
Twice, Twice, Gleyby 🤟 pic.twitter.com/gGsZsxszgw
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 25, 2023
New York has a team batting average of only .238, which is 22nd, but the Yankees have scored 232 runs which is 11th best thanks to timely hitting and power at the plate. New York’s slugging percentage is 12th best at .421 and the Yankees have a .311 on-base percentage which is 22nd. Aaron Judge is leading the Yankees in home runs with 14 and RBI with 33 while Anthony Rizzo is second in both home runs and RBI with 11 and 29 respectively. The Yankees continue to play without two of their best power hitters Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson. New York has hit 62 doubles, seven triples and 75 home runs in 50 games.
Best Bets for this Game
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
Baltimore has won 12 of its last 17 played on the road, five of its last six when playing against an opponent with a winning record and in five of the last six against a team from the American League East. Baltimore is 13th in team batting average and is a solid 12th in team ERA. Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kyle Gibson is coming off a strong outing in which the right-hander held Toronto's strong lineup to one run on five hits across seven innings and the Orioles defeated the Blue Jays 6-2. New York's starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt pitched well last time out, but in his start previous to that gave up six hits and seven runs in only 4 â…” innings.
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
Baltimore has had the total finish over in four of its last five and in five of the last seven played on the road against a team with a winning record. The total has finished over in each of New York's last eight games played at home and in eight of the last 10 games that the Yankees have played against the team from the American League East. New York has seen the total finish over in 12 of his last 16 overall. The total finished over in three of the four games played between the Orioles and Yankees this season including Tuesday night.