Orioles’ Jones leaves game with hamstring injury

NY (67-61) has now won four straight and six of eight to tighten the gap in their attempt to get into the playoffs.

It’s always easier said than done, but with first place just a game out of reach, the Orioles surely won’t need any extra motivation. Scott, of course, was a solid big league player for 14 seasons, a.268 hitter who averaged 20 home runs a year.

Sanchez has become the Yankees regular catcher while moving veteran Brian McCann to being the regular designated hitter. Gregorius was hit in the forearm to lead off the inning, then Castro blasted a two-run home run to left field.

“There’s power there. They say when people are going bad they’re never as bad as they look, and when they’re going great they’re never as great as they look”, manager Joe Girardi said. Starlin Castro took off from first, and when Matt Wieters threw down to second, Gregorius broke for home and beat the return thrown. He walked his second batter, setting up Mark Teixeira’s RBI double. In 21 games, Sanchez has hit.400 with 21 RBI.

As much as fans enjoy hearing those things, none of those accolades matter to Sanchez.

“I just learned about it”, Sanchez said through a translator. “That’s where my focus is, go out there, play hard and win some games”.

It’s the first time they’ve allowed at least 18 hits in consecutive games since August 11-12, 1993, and their ERA in the last 11 games is a frightful 8.23.

A new-look New York Yankees lineup high on energy and an Orioles pitching staff high on mistakes out over the plate conspired for another lopsided loss for Baltimore in the Bronx on Saturday afternoon. He’s now the fastest player to reach that clip in Major League Baseball history, as it took him only 23 games to reach that feat.

Seung Hwan Oh got the last three outs for his 13th save. Baltimore recovered decently by scoring 22 times in taking three of four against the Washington Nationals.

Manny Machado homered twice for the Orioles, giving him 31 for the season. The quartet has combined for 118 of Baltimore’s major league-leading 197 home runs.

Pineda, 27, carries a 4-4 record along with a 4.70 ERA at home this season into Sunday’s matinee and a 3.86 ERA over his last three outings. Before putting Jones into the starting lineup, manager Buck Showalter said he had two lineups in case Jones could not start. I don’t think that had anything to do with it. “It’s as good as I’ve seen to start a career”, said the man who was here when Derek Jeter was a rookie. His breaking ball’s extremely important, too.

Not coincidentally, the arrival of Sanchez – and Cessa and Tyler Austin and Chad Green and Judge, who is struggling somewhat at.231 but had a double in the seventh inning – dovetails with the Yankees winning 12 of their last 20 games. One after another, the Yankees stepped to the plate and lashed base hits all over the field. Their starting pitcher ERA is now over 5.00 for the season.

ASTROS 5, RAYS 4: Carlos Correa and Evan Gattis hit back-to-back homers in the ninth inning to lift Houston at home.

– Albert Pujols hit his 25th home run of the season in a 4-2 loss to the Tigers, marking the 13th consecutive season in which he’s had at least 25 homers and 100 RBIs.

Rookie Dylan Bundy made it through just four innings and the team’s relief woes continued in a 13-5 loss to NY before an announced 38,843 fans at Yankee Stadium.