The Yankees left Baltimore with exactly what they came for: three wins in three days and a cleaner-looking box score than the one from Wednesday night’s chaos.
Thursday’s 6-1 finish at Camden Yards wrapped up a sweep, pushed New York to 72-55, and came with none of the late-game drama that had everyone buzzing the night before. This one was handled early, then finished off without much suspense.
Gerrit Cole gave the Yankees the kind of start they were hunting for. He worked six innings, gave up four hits and one run, struck out eight and walked one, and needed 93 pitches to get through it, 70 of them strikes.
The only real damage came on Dylan Beavers’ solo homer in the fifth. Otherwise, Cole had Baltimore under control.
The outing also moved him past Roger Clemens on the Yankees’ all-time strikeout list. Cole now has 1,015 strikeouts as a Yankee, which puts him alone in 12th place in franchise history.
New York’s offense did the rest, and it started in the third inning. Spencer Jones and Austin Wells opened with singles, then José Caballero put a grounder to second that should have ended the inning, but Gunnar Henderson couldn’t handle the throw. Jones scored on the play, Wells advanced, and Caballero reached safely to make it 1-0.
The Yankees kept layering on from there. After a double play moved Wells to third, Ben Rice lined an RBI single to make it 2-0. Heliot Ramos followed with an RBI double to right, scoring Rice and stretching the lead to 3-0.
Baltimore got one back in the fifth, but the response was immediate. Luis García Jr. led off the sixth with his 25th home run of the season, sending a ball to right-center. Then Jones jumped in, launching his sixth homer of the year to left-center and pushing the Yankees ahead 5-1 while knocking Kyle Bradish out of the game.
Jones finished 3-for-4 with the homer, two runs scored and his seventh stolen base. García was 3-for-4 as well, also scoring twice.
The last bit of insurance came in the eighth, when Jazz Chisholm Jr. ripped an RBI triple that scored García and made it 6-1.
Ryan Yarbrough shut the door from there. He took over for Cole in the seventh and retired all nine Orioles he faced, striking out four over three perfect innings to earn his third save. As a unit, Cole and Yarbrough held Baltimore to four hits, one walk and one run while striking out 12.
Now the Yankees head home at 72-55, four games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. Cam Schlittler is scheduled to start Friday night against Toronto.
In Other News...
Yankees Sweep Bid Comes With A New Third Base Concern
Gerrit Cole has steadied the Yankees at just the right time, stringing together four strong starts with a 1.46 ERA and no home runs allowed over 25 innings. Now he lines up to face the Orioles with Kyle Bradish on the other side, giving New York a familiar big-game pitching matchup as it tries to keep momentum rolling in a series that still carries weight in the standings and in the clubhouse.
The lineup picture, though, has another layer to it. Jose Caballero is set to start at third base with Ryan McMahon sidelined by a thumb injury, while Cody Bellinger has begun a minor league rehab assignment after a strained left hamstring. For a Yankees team trying to tighten everything up heading into a big stretch, the infield shuffle is a reminder that even when the pitching is clicking, the margins can still get a little thinner. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Fans Have Fresh Reason To Revisit That Devin Williams Trade
Nestor Cortes is officially back on the move, this time to Philadelphia on a major-league deal as he works his way back from surgery for a torn biceps tendon. He has not pitched in the majors in 2026, which adds another layer to a trade the Yankees have already had plenty of reason to revisit: the December 2024 deal that sent Cortes, Caleb Durbin and cash to Milwaukee for Devin Williams.
Williams never gave the Yankees the kind of return they had in mind, then eventually landed with the Mets, while Durbin has gone on to impress with both the Brewers and Red Sox. For New York, the trade remains tied to a familiar frustration, because it is not just about what Williams did or did not do in pinstripes - it is also about the player development and roster fit the Yankees let walk away at a time when they still search for more consistent offense. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Just Made A Telling Bet On Their Next Wave
The Yankees are already making their next long-range investment, lining up a deal in the international market that says plenty about how they want to build behind the scenes. The organization has reportedly reached a verbal pre-agreement with a teenage outfielder from the Dominican Republic, a player known for his speed, power and offensive success in his home country, even though he is still too young to sign a professional contract under MLB rules.
What makes the commitment stand out is the size of it and the timing. A promise this substantial would represent a major slice of the clubs recent international signing pool, a sign that New York is willing to keep pushing resources toward the next wave of talent while the rules around international signings could still shift in the future. [Read more 🡒]