Hicks, Montgomery lead Yankees past O’s

Aaron Hicks homered twice and rookie Jordan Montgomery pitched seven stellar innings to lead the New York Yankees over the Baltimore Orioles 8-2 on Friday night.

Starlin Castro also connected for the AL East leaders in the opener of a three-game series between division foes. New York has won three straight, outscoring rivals Boston and Baltimore 25-3 over the last three nights.

Jonathan Schoop hit an early two-run homer for third-place Baltimore, which dropped 4 games behind the Yankees. Dylan Bundy (6-5) tossed six solid innings but lost for the fourth time in his past five starts.

Bundy beat Montgomery 3-2 on May 29 in Baltimore, where the Orioles took two of three from New York. It was a different story in the latest matchup between two promising 24-year-old arms.

Montgomery (4-4) set a career high with eight strikeouts in the longest outing of his 11 major league starts. He was coming off six innings of three-hit ball in a 7-0 win at Toronto.

The left-hander struck out three batters in the first inning and pitched out of trouble in the second following Schoop’s 454-foot homer into the elevated bleachers beyond Baltimore’s bullpen in left-center. He retired 17 of his final 18 hitters, helped by Trey Mancini’s fifth-inning lineout to drawn-in shortstop Didi Gregorius, pinning a runner at third.

Castro homered leading off the second. Gary Sanchez doubled and scored on Chase Headley’s deep sacrifice fly to tie it.

Subbing for injured center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, Hicks opened the sixth with a goahead homer into The Judge’s Chambers section at the back of the lower level of right-field bleachers, where fans dressed in black robes rejoiced.

Colorado closer Greg Holland walked the bases loaded in the ninth inning before escaping, and the Rockies held off the Chicago Cubs for their season-high sixth win in a row.

Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a two-run homer in the eighth as Boston rallied for three runs in the inning and beat the Detroit Tigers. Aledmys Diaz hit a solo home run and Michael Wacha pitched six strong innings as the St. Louis Cardinals snapped a seven-game losing streak.

Cameron Maybin starred in his return from the disabled list, finishing with three hits and a career-high four steals to help the Los Angeles Angels beat the Houston Astros. Giancarlo Stanton smashed a home run over the batter’s eye at PNC Park, Tyler Moore went deep twice for the second multihomer game of his career and the Miami Marlins pounded the reeling Pittsburgh Pirates.