The New York Yankees had a perfect opportunity to make a statement this week, playing on the road against the Baltimore Orioles.
Instead, the O’s were the ones making the statement.
The Yanks lost three out of four games and Baltimore is now the top squad in the AL East with a 20-11 record, against New York’s 20-13 mark.
Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres summed up the series in a couple of sentences.
He couldn’t have done a better job.
“Gleyber Torres: ‘We got punched in the face.’ ‘We have to figure out a way to beat them,’” Yankees insider Bryan Hoch tweeted.
Gleyber Torres: “We got punched in the face.”
“We have to figure out a way to beat them.”
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) May 2, 2024
Indeed, Baltimore punched New York in the face, getting dangerously close to a four-game sweep.
If it wasn’t for Luis Gil on Wednesday, Baltimore probably would have taken the four-game set.
Torres himself made a costly error on Thursday, and even though he also homered, he hasn’t been playing well.
He knows it, and he conceded that Baltimore was the better team in their recent matchup.
The Yankees, like Torres stated, have to find a way to beat the Orioles.
The Houston Astros were their nemesis from 2017 to 2022.
Now, it looks like Baltimore is more than happy to occupy that spot.
The O’s are brimming with talent and depth at all positions, and the Yankees will have to deal with them for years to come so it won’t be a 2024 problem exclusively.
Organizationally, they have to come up with answers to compete with Baltimore.
That will likely decide their fate in the upcoming seasons, at least partially.
The O’s are here to stay, and the ball is in the Yankees’ court.
