MAKE IT A DOUBLE!
Yanks sweep twinbill vs. Orioles with help from Andujar and Sonny
The Yankees did exactly what they needed to do Saturday afternoon.
They clobbered an awful Orioles team, 10-3, in Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader at Camden Yards.
The Bombers (81-47) got home runs from Miguel Andujar, Brett Gardner, Gleyber Torres and Aaron Hicks to blast Buck Showalter's overmatched bunch.
It was the Yankees' MLB-leading 13th game with 4-plus homers.
Andujar, the rookie sensation and AL Rookie of the Year favorite, hit his 21st homer of the season — a three-run shot to center off New Jersey native Jimmy Yacabonis — in the top of the third to give the Bombers the lead for good, 5-2.
“At the end of it all, if it happens, it happens,” Andujar told reporters through an interpreter about rookie honors. “We are trying to accomplish something bigger here than individual awards.”
It was Andujar's 42nd multi-hit game of the season and he leads AL rookies in hitting (.298), RBI (70) and is second in homers.
“He's a special kind of talent,” gushed Happ. “The production has been huge for us.” Rookie skipper Aaron Boone agreed. “I think he has a really good idea of what teams are doing to him and what p tc ers are o ng to m, Boone sa . “So, he'll go up there and make certain adjustments.”
Giancarlo Stanton tried to join in on the homer fest but was robbed of career homer No. 300 in the sixth inning when a leaping Cedric Mullins reached over the 7-foot wall in center field to snag the ball in the webbing of his glove.
The Yankees have now won six of seven and moved a season-best 34 games over .500.
J.A. Happ (15-6) turned in another solid outing as the 35-year-old lefty gave up two runs on five hits over six innings. He finished with nine strikeouts and walked only one.
Happ, whom the Yanks acquired ahead of the trade deadline from the Blue Jays, has been exactly what the doctor ordered (except for that brief DL stint for hand, foot and mouth disease) to bolster the rotation. He has won his first five starts with the Yankees and continued his season-long mastery of the Orioles (4-0).
“That's what he's done for a long time,” Showalter said of Happ. “Real late-life fastball, works on both sides of the plate. The best pitch in baseball is still a located fastball, especially the one he has.”
He is the first Yankees pitcher to win his first five starts with the team in the same season since Bob Turley in 1955, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Luis Cessa, who was recalled from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to serve as their 26t man or t e tw n , too t e Yan s the rest of the way as he gave the bullpen a day off with three innings to record his first big-league save.
After a disappointing series split in Miami, the Bombers needed to take advantage of this easy stretch of the schedule to regain their offensive mojo before heading out to the West Coast starting on Sept. 3 to face the two teams chasing them in the Wild Card standings — Oakland and Seattle. After this four-game set against the worst team in baseball, the Yankees return home to face two more clubs well below .500 in the White Sox and Tigers.
Saturday afternoon's offensive onslaught was impressive considering three heart-of-the-order regulars — Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius — remain on the disabled list.
In the nightcap, Boone is sending out Sonny Gray (9-8, 5.34 ERA). It's Gray's first start since giving up seven runs in a loss to the Orioles on August 1. The struggling righty was demoted to the bullpen the next day.
TRAINER’S ROOM: Gary Sanchez (groin strain) went 0 for 3 with a walk for the Gulf Coast League Yankees on Saturday. "I'm excited for him to start his trek back up," manager Aaron Boone said. If all goes well, Sanchez will join Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start a minor league rehab assignment early next week. He has been out since July 24.