New York will try to bounce back from a slow start to the second half of the season when it travels to Baltimore on Friday night. The Yankees, who were the best team in the majors up to the All-Star break, were swept in a doubleheader at Houston on Thursday. Baltimore is looking to pick up where it left off prior to the All-Star break.
New York was clearly the best team in baseball during the first half of the season, going on multiple lengthy winning streaks during its 64-28 start. The Yankees did have a few issues down the stretch though, dropping five games in an eight-game stretch before going on the three-day break. They returned in disappointing fashion on Thursday, getting swept in a doubleheader at Houston. New York’s seven-game road trip will wrap up with three games in Baltimore and two games against the Mets next week. The Yankees are still two games ahead of the Dodgers for the best record in the MLB.
#AllRise for Homer No. 34 pic.twitter.com/c95MqPtToe
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 22, 2022
They come into Friday’s game ranked No. 13 in team batting average, hitting at a .245. New York is facing a Baltimore pitching staff that is No. 16 with an ERA of 3.94. Center fielder Aaron Judge leads New York with 97 hits, including 34 home runs. Right-handed pitcher Jameson Taillon is going to make the start for New York on Friday night. He picked up a win against Boston his last time out, allowing one run on two hits and no walks while striking out five across six innings. Taillon had allowed 20 runs over his previous 21 frames, so it was a strong bounce back performance. He finished the first half of the season with a team-high 10 wins along with a 3.86 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 100.1 innings.