Entering play Tuesday, the Baltimore Orioles led the New York Yankees by three games in the American League East and hoped to sail into the All-Star break with a multi-game lead. But suddenly, the Orioles have lost five straight contests, are trying to figure out how to score, and find themselves in a dead heat with the Yankees as they wrap up their three-game series on Sunday in Baltimore. The winner will take a one-game lead in the division into the break. The Orioles, already guaranteed to lose a series to an AL East team for the first time since April 2023, have matched their worst skid of the season. They've scored four runs over the past five games, perplexing for a team that has seven batters with double-digit home runs on the season and leads the majors in homers (147). "We scored a lot of runs this year, but we haven't of late," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. "We still feel really good about our offense. At some point here, we're going to come out of it." Baltimore first baseman Ryan Mountcastle said the goal is to crank up some offense Sunday, then hit a reset for the season's stretch run. "We've got a good little break coming up and get it going in the second half," he said. New York teammates Juan Soto and Aaron Judge blasted consecutive home runs in the fifth inning of Saturday's 6-1 victory. "For our two big boys to go up there and extend the lead ... was big," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. Judge's home run was his 34th, the most ever prior to the All-Star break by a Yankee. The Yankees won Friday's opener 4-1. Sunday's scheduled starting pitchers are left-hander Carlos Rodon (9-7, 4.63 ERA) for the Yankees and right-hander Dean Kremer (4-5, 4.42) for the Orioles. Rodon, who's riding a personal five-game losing streak, will try to become the second Yankees pitcher in as many days to reach the 10-win mark after Luis Gil did on Saturday. Rodon hasn't won since June 10 at Kansas City to make his record 9-2, and he's given up 28 runs (27 earned) in his past 23 innings. Rodon took the 7-2 loss May 2 at Baltimore when he gave up seven runs (six earned) in four innings. He has made six career appearances with five starts against the Orioles, holding an 0-3 record and 5.74 ERA in 26 2/3 total innings. Kremer was the winning pitcher April 30 against the visiting Yankees, allowing two runs and four hits in seven innings. In 10 starts against the Yankees in his career, Kremer is 3-3 with a 4.70 ERA. Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad, who was beaned Friday night in an incident that sparked the emptying of dugouts and bullpens in an on-field confrontation between the teams, was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list Saturday. "He went out and took batting practice and just wasn't feeling real well," Hyde said of Saturday's pregame warmups. "He did all the tests and everything this morning. They felt comfortable about him going out there. Once the day started going along and he got out in the sun and started moving around, he started to not feel as good." Another Baltimore outfielder, Austin Hays, left Saturday's game with hip soreness. Hyde said that move was precautionary and Hays could be in the lineup for the series finale. After Sunday, the only remaining meetings between the teams this year are slated for three games Sept. 24-26 in New York. The Orioles lead the season series 5-4. --Field Level Media
Jul 13, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) rounds the bases following his solo home run in the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports