After two pitching-led wins in this series against the Yankees, the Orioles (19-10) hope for more good work on the mound tonight when they send out ace right-hander Corbin Burnes (3-0, 2.55 ERA) for his seventh start.

The Orioles have posted 2-0 and 4-2 wins to take the first two games from the Yankees, moving from one game behind New York to one game ahead and leading the American League East.

In the games, O’s pitching has allowed two runs and 12 hits with the Yanks going 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The O’s bullpen, which had been scored upon in 13 of 16 games as this series began, has thrown 5 1/3 scoreless on three hits versus the Yankees.

And Baltimore pitching did this against a New York team that scored 15 runs Saturday and 15 more Sunday at Milwaukee.

With these two wins, the Orioles are now 8-0 in games decided by two runs.

Not only have the Orioles been the best team in the American League East to this point of the year – leading the division by four games – but they have been the best team in head-to-head games within the AL East.

AL East vs. AL East in 2023:
.634 – Orioles (26-15)
.600 – Rays (24-16)
.556 – Red Sox (20-16)
.381 – Yankees (16-26)
.324 – Blue Jays (12-25)

So the O’s .634 win percentage in AL East games is about equal to the .633 win percentage for the year. The O’s are currently on a 102-win pace.

The Birds' nine-game road trip will end this weekend and they have now shifted from the West Coast to the East Coast for three games in Boston at Fenway Park. The Orioles are 3-3 against Boston this year and the teams have not played since April 26. They have not played at Fenway Park since losing two of three games there to begin the year March 30-April 2.

One reason the Orioles are in first place is their solid play in the division this year. They lost their first two AL East series of the year to the Red Sox and Yankees and have not lost a division series since, going 9-0-2 since early April.

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