The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Hicks, Montgomery help lead Yankees past Orioles
NEW YORK » 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 ½ 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 threehit ball in a 7-0 win at Toronto. for him.”
New York has not announced a spot starter for Sunday. Girardi said the team has “internal candidates” — some on the major league staff and some in Triple-A — but the decision will depend on how the games play out Friday and Saturday.
The 28-year-old Tanaka has lost a career-worst five straight outings and is 5-6 with a 6.55 ERA in 12 starts this season. Despite his losing streak, the Yankees began Friday with a three-game lead in the AL East.
“I feel like I know why my command is not there,” Tanaka said. “I’m in the process of trying to fix it.”
In other news, injured closer Aroldis Chapman is scheduled to throw a simulated game Saturday morning at the team’s complex in Tampa, Florida. Chapman said he expects a one-game minor league rehab assignment to follow, and he’ll probably rejoin the Yankees on the West Coast in about a week.
“I’m very anxious to finish the process and get back here to start helping these guys,” Chapman said through a translator. “I feel ready. I feel good. My arm feels good. What we have to do now is just get through those minor league innings, see how I feel after that, and see what happens.”
Chapman has been on the disabled list since May 13 with rotator cuff inflammation in his left shoulder. He said he hasn’t felt any discomfort since the day he went on the DL.
“The following days, after going through all the rehab, exercises and treatment, the pain went away,” he said. “No pain at all. Everything feels free and good.”
Tanaka gave up three home runs in five innings Tuesday night during a 5-4 loss to Boston, his fifth consecutive defeat.