The American League East-leading Baltimore Orioles continued to build momentum ahead of the return of Hyun-jin Ryu (Toronto Blue Jays).

The Baltimore Orioles defeated the New York Yankees, 9-3, in the final game of a three-game weekend series at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Baltimore avenged a loss the previous day and swept the three-game series from the Yankees to retain first place in the American League East. 64-41 on the season. Their lead over the second-place Tampa Bay Rays is 1.5 games. The Yankees, on the other hand, remained at the bottom of the division with a 55-50 record.

Against Yankees starter Luis Severino, the Rays scored seven runs in the first inning. With runners on first and second, Anthony Santander and Ryan O’Hearn hit back-to-back RBI doubles to give the Orioles a 3-0 lead, and after an Austin Hayes walk, Adam Frazier followed with a towering three-run shot.

Baltimore didn’t stop there, as Jordan Westberg singled, stole second and scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-0.

In the fourth inning, with the score 7-2, Gunner Henderson doubled after a leadoff walk and a wild pitch put runners on first and third with one out. It was the game-winning hit.

The Baltimore offense was unable to hold off Severino, who suffered his fifth loss of the season (2-2) after allowing nine runs on 10 hits (one homer) with two walks and five strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.

According to MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, Baltimore finished the three-game series against the Yankees as a dominant series, a whopping seven years after the team last reached the postseason in 2016. The Orioles also finished their 13-game series against the Yankees this year with a 7-6 advantage, also the first time in seven years since 2016 (10-9).

What’s different about Baltimore this year? MLB.com writes, “The Orioles began rebuilding the organization after winning 47 games and losing 115 games in 2018, overhauling the front office and coaching staff. It was years in the making, and they struggled against the Yankees. From 2019-2022, Baltimore’s record against the Yankees was 20-47.” “Baltimore is now in first place in the East. This game against the Yankees showed how much they’ve changed.”온라인바카

Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said, “We’ve struggled in the past, but now we’re playing well with a competitive roster. We can throw the ball well, and we can score runs.”

Lurchman, who fulfilled his leadoff role on the day by going 4-for-5 with a home run, one RBI, one walk and two runs scored, said, “Nobody can stop us now. We’re just focused on playing a good game. We’re a good team, and we’re doing everything we can do.”

That’s not good news for Ryu, who will make his return from injury after a year and two months next month against Baltimore. He’ll need to come up with a special plan to shut down the overconfident Baltimore offense. Ryu’s career record against the Orioles is 5-1 with a 4.35 ERA in nine games.