Powerful O's push Yankees back in shutout

September 3rd, 2016

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles' home run-happy lineup showed up in a big way Friday night, mashing four homers en route to an 8-0 series-opening romp over the Yankees.
The American League East matchup at Camden Yards, which features two teams fighting for the playoffs, saw the Yankees -- who won two of three against the Orioles last weekend at home -- get off to a rough start as starter exited after five outs with tightness and soreness in his right elbow. Green was charged with four runs, including a homer, as part of a six-run second inning for Baltimore.
"They must've had a tough time picking player of the game, because there was a lot of guys you could make a case for," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "Just a reminder what guys have been doing most of the year and what we're capable of." 
The Orioles remained in a tie with the Tigers for the second AL Wild Card spot and expanded their lead over the Astros to two games, while pushing the Yankees 3 1/2 games back.
turned the power on with a two-out, two-run shot that landed on Eutaw Street. After reached, drove in two more off Yankees reliever and added a solo shot to complete the back-to-back effort with Davis. Machado added a two-run blast in the fourth.
, who returned to the lineup for the first time in a week, singled twice and drove in the game's first run.

Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder, called up earlier Friday, made his Major League debut with a perfect sixth inning.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Green hoping for the best: The Yankees' 25-year-old rookie left the mound with head athletic trainer Steve Donohue after issuing a walk to Machado. The club said that Green -- ranked by MLBPipeline.com as the Yanks' No. 21 prospect -- will have an MRI on Saturday in Baltimore, and he said that the possibility of Tommy John surgery is going through his mind.
"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't, but I'm hoping it's nothing serious," Green said. "I never had any problems before. I'll just see what happens." More >

Second-inning smashing: The Orioles' offensive onslaught was a welcome reprieve for an inconsistent team that has been unable to string together many games of both a productive offense and stingy pitching.
"You're not going to be working on all cylinders at all times. The teams that have the most success are the teams that can do that more often throughout the year," Alvarez said. "That's what we try to do every time we go out there. 
"We know it's not going to be a hundred percent of the time, but any time you can get the ball rolling on all ends, that's usually the recipe for a 'W' at the end of the day. Obviously, a day like today is a lot of fun, and we hope to have a lot more coming up here." More >

Welcome to The Show: Holder struck out the first batter he faced, Jones, who playfully tried to steal the ball from catcher . The memento was safely dispatched to the Yankees' dugout before Holder got Alvarez and Machado to ground out in succession.

"It was great. It was everything I ever dreamed it would be," Holder said. "It was nice, we had some good defense behind me and made some good plays." More >
Jones did his best to steal Holder's first strikeout ball
Bundy does his job: Staked to an early lead, Bundy kept New York off the scoreboard, going 5 2/3 innings and exiting to an ovation from the home crowd. The rookie righty allowed two hits, four walks and struck out five.

"It's nice when you have four days' rest and are able to face the same team again, and make adjustments," Bundy said. "And tonight, it paid off."
PEDIATRIC CANCER AWARENESS
Both teams joined Major League Baseball in dedicating Friday to pediatric cancer awareness, wearing gold ribbons and wristbands to show their support.

Before the game, the Orioles honored 6-year-old Zoe Stauch, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia last year, by inviting her to throw out one of the ceremonial first pitches. The club also recognized Dr. Yoram Unguru for his dedication to helping children battling cancer.

Young O's fan and 'Cool Kid' fires first pitch
WHAT'S NEXT
Yankees: (8-11, 4.31 ERA) will get another crack at the Orioles on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET after taking a tough-luck loss his last time out, permitting three runs and six hits over 6 ⅔ innings in New York's 5-0 loss at Yankee Stadium. Sabathia is 1-2 with a 2.49 ERA in four starts vs. Baltimore this season.
Orioles: Saturday's starter, , finally earned his first road win this season his last time out. The righty allowed seven hits and no walks with nine strikeouts over seven scoreless innings Sunday against the Yankees.
Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.