The Yankees are heading into Sunday’s regular-season finale with the bigger picture already in mind. The roster is being mapped out, the Red Sox are waiting in next week’s wild-card series, and New York still has one last regular-season goal to chase: win No. 94.
That final game against the Orioles has been pushed up to 1:05 p.m. because of weather concerns, and the Yankees are coming off a strange Friday that turned into a single-admission doubleheader after a nor’easter forced the schedule around. New York was off Saturday, and the last few days have been all about balance - resting regulars, giving prominent relievers a breather and trying out different defensive looks now that the Yankees have been out of the American League East race since Tuesday night.
Friday brought the full range of late-season baseball chaos. The Yankees dropped the opener 10-2, then bounced back for a 6-3 win to split their fifth doubleheader of the year before the tarp came down right after the last out.
Anthony Volpe was one of the more interesting pieces in that split. He played third base in the first game and shortstop in the second, continuing a stretch of versatility that could matter when the postseason roster gets finalized.
Since coming back from the minors on Sept. 10, Volpe is hitting .265 with nine RBIs in 14 games, and he came through Friday night with a two-run double in the sixth inning as part of a three-hit day.
"This is the most important part of the season," Volpe said. "This is the best part of why you do it; this is why you play. It's Yankees/Red Sox -- that's what October baseball is."
Ben Rice also stayed hot, collecting three hits in the doubleheader and carrying a big season line into Sunday: 41 homers and 97 RBIs. That production has taken on extra weight with Aaron Judge having played only 66 games and possibly missing the wild-card series because of a moderately strained right calf.
Baltimore, meanwhile, is finishing up a second straight losing season after a run in which it won 275 games from 2022-2024. Pete Alonso has been the bright spot in that lineup. In his first season with the Orioles, he enters the finale with 43 home runs and 113 RBIs, and he has already locked up the AL RBI title while sitting one ahead of Yordan Alvarez and Junior Caminero in the AL home run race.
Alonso is also on track to play in his 162nd game for the third year in a row. He has been especially dangerous lately, with eight of his last 10 hits leaving the yard. His 43 homers are the most by an Oriole since Mark Trumbo hit 47 in 2016.
"It's impressive," manager Craig Albernaz said. "It's not only the at-bat quality and the pitches he's getting, he's not missing them. He's squaring them up pretty good."
If the weather cooperates and the game is played, the Yankees will see Elmer Rodriguez again. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA, has made six starts and owns 21 strikeouts against 16 walks in 26 2/3 innings.
His most recent big league outing came Aug. 31, when he labored through 3 2/3 innings in a 10-1 road loss to the Angels. He also flashed better velocity on Aug. 26 in New York’s 9-3 win over Houston, when he allowed three runs on three hits over six innings in a no-decision.
Baltimore will counter with Shane Baz, who is 6-15 with a 4.11 ERA and is expected to work a shortened outing, much like Trevor Rogers did Friday when he threw 55 pitches over four innings. Baz is 2-6 with a 4.37 ERA in his last 10 starts and took a no-decision Monday against Toronto, when the Orioles rallied in the eighth inning.
In Other News...
Orioles Make A Notable Lineup Change For Season Finale
With the Orioles down to their 162nd game and sitting at 79-82, the season finale brings a few notable lineup tweaks as Baltimore tries to finish on a sharper note. Gunnar Henderson is back in the lineup and batting third, while Heston Kjerstad is set to handle right field for the first time since Sept. 14, giving the club a different look as it closes out a year that has already settled most of the standings drama.
The matchup also adds a layer of curiosity on the mound, with Shane Baz making his 32nd start against the Yankees and New York countering with rookie right-hander Elmer Rodrguez, who is still looking for his first major league win. For an Orioles club that is one game ahead of Toronto for fourth in the division, there is still something to be sorted out in the final box score, even if the bigger questions have long since been answered. [Read more 🡒]
Gunnar Hendersons Brutal Take Shows What Orioles Must Fix Fast
Gunnar Henderson was not in the lineup for the second game of the doubleheader, but the bigger note came afterward when he opened up about a disappointing 2026 season and what it meant to come up short of the postseason. The Orioles shortstop did not dress it up, instead pointing to the kind of small details and mental readiness that can get lost over the course of a long season, especially when the expectations in Baltimore are built around playing meaningful games in October.
Henderson also hinted at how much harder the year felt as he dealt with multiple batting coaches and saw pitchers keep adjusting to him as the season went on. For the Orioles, that makes his comments more than a personal reflection. It is a reminder that the fix may not be one big change, but a fast, careful reset in approach, communication and day-to-day consistency before those same issues carry into next year. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Late Push Exposed Who Came Through And Who Let Fans Down
The Orioles 2026 season spent a long stretch drifting between promise and disappointment, with playoff expectations giving way to early setbacks and a trade-deadline fire sale that signaled just how far things had slipped. Even so, Baltimore stayed alive in the race until the final week, and September gave the club a clearer read on who handled the pressure when the margin for error disappeared.
Pete Alonso and Anthony Nunez were among the players who answered the call during the late push, while Gunnar Hendersons offense faded at a time when the Orioles needed him most. For a team that never quite let go of the chase, the last month ended up exposing both the contributors who kept hope alive and the players who left too much on the table. [Read more 🡒]