Luke Voit concluded his breakout weekend on the highest of notes, helping the New York Yankees sweep the Orioles with a two-run home run.
One can only imagine how much closer the American League East race would be if the New York Yankees handled their business against the lowly Baltimore Orioles all season. Nonetheless, a four-game sweep has perhaps officially reopened the division race.
Luke Voit concluded his breakout weekend a two-run home run and a pair of runs scored, while Miguel Andujar drove in two more runs, and the Yankees pulled off a rare four-game sweep, handling the Orioles by a 5-3 final on Sunday night in Baltimore.
Voit, now batting .379 in a Yankee uniform, rose his average over 100 points over the four-game set, ending the series with a line of 7-for-11 with seven RBI and three home runs. He opened scoring in the top of the second inning, launching a two-run home run off Dylan Bundy (L, 7-13) to open scoring.
Home run, Luke Voit. #Yankees up 2-0. Quite a weekend for him (three homers). More bad news for Bird. pic.twitter.com/ELFggtwe1z
— Tom Hanslin (@tomhanslin) August 27, 2018
The Yankees (83-47) kept the scoring going in their next frame at the plate, as Miguel Andujar hit a two-run double down the right-field line that drove in Shane Robinson and Aaron Hicks to create a 4-0 lead.
The runs scored were the 71st and 72nd runs driven in by the rookie Andujar, leading all MLB rookies.
Santa Maria! Miguel Andujar is so darn good? pic.twitter.com/Um9gpBaH0u
— Bronx Bomber Ball (@BronxBomberBall) August 27, 2018
Despite some intensive labor, needing 107 pitches to get through 5.2 innings, Luis Severino (W, 17-6) nonetheless kept limited the Orioles to three runs (two earned) on four hits, striking out eight in the process.
Baltimore (37-94) scored their runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Jonathan Villar scored Jace Peterson on a sacrifice fly before Trey Mancini homered in the latter inning. The solo shot was followed up by a Peterson RBI single after a Gleyber Torres error kept the inning going, but Chad Green struck out Caleb Joseph to prevent further damage.
Voit would add one more run for the Yankees, advancing home on a Cody Carroll wild pitch in the top of the sixth. Former Oriole Zach Britton pitched a perfect 1.2 innings after Green, while David Robertson pitched a shutout ninth to earn his fourth save of the year.
With the four wins over the weekend, the Yankees are now just six games behind the Boston Red Sox for the East division lead, still having two games in hand. The race has suddenly intensified thanks to the Red Sox dropping each stage of a three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays. It marks the first time Boston has been swept in a series this season.
The Yankees will look to extend their winning streak back at home tomorrow night, opening a three-game set against the Chicago White Sox (7:00 p.m. ET, YES/ESPN). Masahiro Tanaka (9-4, 3.90 ERA) will go up against Carlos Rodon (5-3, 2.71 ERA).
