Masahiro Tanaka
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

It took some patience, but the New York Yankees finished off a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a run in the ninth inning.

  • New York Yankees 6 (32-17)
  • Baltimore Orioles 5 (15-35)
  • AL, Final, Box Score
  • Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD

The New York Yankees once again defeated the Baltimore Orioles thanks some key contributions from Gleyber Torres and Gary Sanchez. Their bats didn’t need as much power as normally shown against Baltimore, but the particulars don’t matter when it comes to a victory.

A walk from Torres and a single from Sanchez set up the winning run in the Yankees’ completion of a four-game series sweep. Two more walks allowed Torres to come home, and the Yankees to leave with a 6-5 victory. It marks their first four-game since August 23-26 of last season, also in Baltimore.

The Yankees (32-17) seemed set up for an easy completion after going up 5-1 by the eighth inning. With the Orioles (15-35) holding a tiny lead after Richie Martin drove in Renato Nunez on a second-inning fielder’s choice, the Yankees went on to score in each of the final four frames. Clint Fraizer got it started with a solo home run in the fifth off Baltimore starter Dylan Bundy.

More familiar heroes rose up the later frames. Giovanny Urshela drove two runs on a single in the sixth and a duplicate hit by Austin Romine put up one more. Luke Voit added the last one in the most exciting of fashions, another solo home run.

The Orioles, however, had a surprise in store for the Yankees’ bullpen.

Masahiro Tanaka pitched six innings of one-run ball to open for the Yankees. Jonathan Holder pitched a perfect seventh, but ran into trouble in the eighth. After walking Jonathan Villar, he let up a base hit to Stevie Wilkerson. Villar came home on Trey Mancini‘s single, causing Holder to be swapped for Tommy Kahnle (W, 2-0).

Kahnle was able to force a flyout from Dennis Smith Jr., but a three-run blast from Nunez set the stage for dramatics.

It would’ve appeared that the Orioles would get a rest from the antics of Torres and Sanchez with each out of the starting lineup. But, in the ninth, they were respectively called up to pinch hit for Thairo Estrada and Romine. They contributed to the win in a more subtle, but still successful, way.

Facing Mychal Givens (L, 0-2), the Yankees were forced into two quick outs as Brett Gardner and Cameron Maybin each fell on strikes. But after the powerful pair each got on base, the Yankees were in business. Two more Givens walks, the last couple to DJ LeMaheiu and Aaron Hicks, respectively loaded the bases and scored the winning run. Ex-Oriole Zack Britton allowed a hit, but needed just nine pitches to earn his second save of the year.

The Yankees will now immediately enter the latter part of a two-part road trip. They’ll start the three-game set with the Kansas City Royals on Friday night (8:15 p.m. ET, WPIX). The New York starter has yet to be announced, but the Royals will counter with Jakob Junis (3-5, 5.69 ERA).

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