The New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles are in quite the battle for the AL East, where they’re currently tied for first.
It is August 12. The 2024 MLB season is nearly three-quarters over. The Yankees are fresh off of an awful month-plus stretch where the team was on par with the Colorado Rockies for worst team in baseball. Meanwhile, during that same stretch from June into July, Baltimore also failed to build its lead at the top.
Cut to today, and both franchises have seven weeks to give fans an answer: Which AL East team reigns supreme? And no, we are not flipping a coin.
But anyway, I digress. The point is that looking at both New York and Baltimore’s schedules, one thing is clear: Both teams are playing with house money for different reasons, particularly Baltimore. Their young core of powerful bats, led by Jackson Holliday’s rookie resurgence, overcomes an equally young rotation.
The Yankees, on the other hand, are pretty set with their lineup. Slowly but surely, the pitching is getting back on track. More notable, however, is the team’s remaining schedule as this all comes to be.
Consider this: From now until the end of the regular season on September 29, the Yankees only face four current playoff teams: the Cleveland Guardians next week and then the Royals, Mariners, and Orioles again next month. Moreover, of that group, FanGraphs only has Baltimore and Cleveland with playoff odds greater than 90%.
And speaking of Baltimore, they too have a similar remaining schedule, albeit slightly difficult. Their remaining current playoff opponents are the Astros, Dodgers, Yankees, and Twins. The Orioles also have an upcoming three-game series with the Mets, who are only a half-game out of the last NL Wild Card spot.
Friends, Romans, baseball fans, start your engines.
And for the Yankees fans who are paying attention, they know that this week is key. Three games against the MLB-worst Chicago White Sox should be a walk in the park, as should the sub-average Detroit Tigers this weekend. And yet, this team has had issues with teams of all stripes all season long. Last month’s Subway Series sweep still stings.
The same goes for the Orioles, even with the slightly harder schedule. They and the Yankees are the two top power-hitting teams in baseball and can slug their way into October. The problem is only one of them can finish in first place.
Both teams match up well, except the Yankees have both Aaron Judge and Juan Soto at the top of their lineup. That alone should give the Bronx Bombers an advantage the rest of the way.
Let’s see if they rise to the occasion.
FOR FULL STORY ON STANDARD WEBSITE: The time is now for Yankees to pull away in AL East race | Elite Sports NY