Orioles prepare for pivotal series vs. Yankees with Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole set to return

During spring training, the two best returning pitchers in the American League East were revealed to have elbow injuries that raised questions about whether they could be as dominant in 2024.

The Orioles’ Kyle Bradish suffered a sprain to his ulnar collateral ligament — for which Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery is sometimes performed to repair — while the New York Yankees’ Gerrit Cole was diagnosed with nerve inflammation and edema in his elbow. Bradish missed the first five weeks of the season and is back on the shelf with the same injury, while Cole has yet to make his season debut.

That is, until Wednesday when the Orioles come to town.

Baltimore visits Yankee Stadium this week for a three-game series against its main division foe. Every game between the Orioles and Yankees will feel far more important than a normal regular-season contest given the two clubs are atop the American League standings, currently on pace to compete for the AL East title and the circuit’s No. 1 seed. The Orioles (47-24) are 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees, who have MLB’s best record at 50-24.

The Yankees aren’t pulling any punches, putting Cole on a path to be ready to start the second game of the series Wednesday. Had Bradish not reinjured his elbow Friday and been placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday, he would’ve been rested enough to start Wednesday or Thursday.

In this way, the Yankees are getting stronger — welcoming the return of the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner — while the Orioles’ rotation is weaker with the absence of Bradish, who finished fourth in the honor’s voting last year.

“We got real fortunate the last couple years. This year, we’ve had our share so far,” manager Brandon Hyde said about Baltimore’s injury issues in 2024. “Part of the game, a lot of teams are dealing with it. We’ve just got to do our best to have the next guy step up.”

New York has the starting pitching advantage this week, as Oriole killer Nestor Cortes, Cole and AL Rookie of the Year front-runner Luis Gil will toe the slap for the Yankees. For the Orioles, it will be journeyman Albert Suárez, prospect Cade Povich and southpaw Cole Irvin tasked with taming a Yankees lineup with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto in it.

Suárez and Irvin have pitched splendidly this season. The former sports a sparkling 1.61 ERA in his first year in the majors since 2017, while Irvin has bounced back from an up-and-down 2023 to be the Orioles’ second most consistent hurler with nine straight starts of three or fewer earned runs allowed. And Povich, a lefty who will make his third career start opposite Cole, is coming off a stellar outing in which he shut out the Braves across six innings.

However, despite the success of the Orioles’ trio, the Yankees’ is certainly more formidable. Baltimore ace Corbin Burnes and sophomore Grayson Rodriguez pitched this weekend against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Orioles make the trip to the Bronx on a heater, winners of 10 of their past 14. Since the Orioles were swept by the St. Louis Cardinals to end their AL-record sweepless streak, they’ve gone 18-6. But they’ve gained only 1 1/2 games on the Yankees, who went 16-7 during that stretch.

With a sweep, the Orioles would reclaim the top spot in the AL East, while they could fall to as far as 4 1/2 games behind New York if the Yankees pull off a sweep.

On the line for Baltimore is one of MLB’s most impressive streaks. The Orioles haven’t lost a divisional set since April 2023, a stretch of 21 series. They are 17-6 versus the AL East this year, including 2-1 against the Yankees.

With MLB’s balanced schedule, the Orioles and Yankees play each other only 13 times, down from 19 before the change last year. In theory, that makes each game more important, especially considering the two clubs have already separated themselves from the pack in the division.

The Red Sox are 10 1/2 games behind the Orioles, while the Toronto Blue Jays are 12 games back and the Tampa Bay Rays are 13 1/2 games away. That means it’s quite likely the AL East comes down to the Orioles and Yankees, increasing the stakes for all three games this week.

Baltimore was off Monday for its first day away from the diamond since May 30. Despite the club’s success during that stretch, Hyde could tell the toll it was taking on his players.

“This has been a grind,” Hyde said. “These guys, I could see them walking off the field, they’re tired. To go about it the way they have, it’s been a tough stretch and we’ve played really well through a really tough stretch.”

But, as Hyde noted, “it doesn’t get any easier.” After the Yankees, the Orioles face the Houston Astros, AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians and the Texas Rangers before their next day off on July 1.

“Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us,” Hyde said. “This is the big leagues. Now we’re going to go to a real cool baseball environment and hopefully play well the next series.”

Baltimore Sun reporter Childs Walker contributed to this article.