The visiting team has won the first two series between these AL East foes. Does that bode well for the Baltimore Orioles (49-33) in game two, or will the New York Yankees (46-38) successfully defend their East 161st Street home? Only a few games separate these teams in the standings, as they vie for the American League's top Wild Card spot, so every matchup is important. The Fourth of July is always special in Yankee Stadium, thanks to Lou Gehrig's famous farewell speech and a Dave Righetti no-hitter against the Red Sox, among other things. At 1:05 p.m. EDT, the world may see another special chapter of Independence Day baseball from the Bronx.
On Sunday afternoon, Baltimore's final home game before the All-Star break, they were staring down a late 1-0 deficit. This Orioles team that hasn't been swept since May 2022 was able to avoid the brooms again, plating two runs in the eighth to escape with a win. Now their offense, 10th in runs per game, will look to get back on track after a pretty quiet week. Baltimore isn't spectacular in any one area, with an 11th-ranked slugging percentage or 11th-lowest strikeout rate the highlights of the offense. However, there aren't any areas that the lineup collectively struggles with. The Orioles can score in many ways, so every opposing player has to be sharp defensively.
Leading the majors in WAR and FIP from relievers, thanks to All-Stars Yennier Cano and Felix Bautista being unhittable in the back end, Baltimore holds onto most leads. Kyle Gibson's mission is to hand them one. He had no issues with that in May, tossing 7.0 two-hit, shutout innings in Yankee Stadium, leading the Orioles to a 3-1 win. However, Gibson had a brutal June, finishing with a 6.84 ERA and Baltimore going 1-4 in his starts. He also has a 5.86 ERA in five daytime starts this season. It'll be interesting to see which version of Kyle Gibson shows up.