The battle for the American League East is coming down to the wire.
The Yankees and Orioles have been unable to pull away from one another in the standings — despite each team giving the other every opportunity to do so. Entering Wednesday afternoon’s matchup against the Mets, the O’s held a half-game lead over the Bombers in the division thanks to the Yankees sloppy loss to the Guardians on Tuesday night.
“I was definitely tuned into the Yankees-Guardians game [Tuesday night],” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde before they took on the Mets at Citi Field. “I had both eyes on that game.”
“Yeah, I was watching that and seeing how that game ended,” Hyde added with a chuckle. “Yeah, I think we’re very, very aware of what’s happening in other places.”
Hyde was so tuned in that he actually noted how the Yankees used all eight arms in their bullpen during their extra-innings loss. The Orioles’ skipper was not shy about the fact that he keeps tabs on what’s going on in the Bronx.
The manager will even take a peek at the out-of-town scoreboard during the games once in a while, though he doesn’t do it often.
“Not usually,” said Hyde. “I think it depends on what the score is of our game [or] if I’m in a good mood or not. After the game, I’m definitely watching.”
Despite the frustration both teams have experienced, it is seemingly a league-wide issue in what is shaping up to be a strange year in baseball.
Entering Wednesday, each of the top five teams in baseball are within a game of each other — Dodgers, Phillies, Guardians, Brewers and Orioles — with the Yankees just on the outside at a game and a half back of the best record in the game.
“I think a lot of people are going through a little bit of what we’re going through,” Hyde said. “Where you have some guys banged up and you’re trying to do the best you can on the mound and hopefully your offense [carry’s you]. …
“Right now, we need to rely on our offense a little bit with the guys going down on the mound.”
The Orioles have experienced an abundance of bad luck on the mound. Starters John Means (Tommy John surgery), Kyle Braddish (elbow), Grayson Rodriguez (lat) and the newly-acquired Zach Eflin headline the injured list for the Birds.
Despite their injuries, Hyde’s staff has mostly held up over the course of the season ranking seventh in ERA (3.80) from starting pitchers, one spot ahead of the Yankees who own a 3.89 ERA.
The Yankees, however, have been largely fortunate on the injury front. Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Gerrit Cole have all dodged potential season-costing injuries and Giancarlo Stanton had just a month-long trip on the shelf.
While the Bombers have lost some key pieces such as Jazz Chisholm Jr., Clarke Schmidt, and others, their failure to pull away cannot be attributed to injuries the same way it can for their rivals.
Hyde will have to do a lot of scoreboard-watching heading down the stretch as the O’s and Yankees don’t face off again until Sept. 25-27.
According to FanGraphs, the Yankees are the slight favorites to come out on top in the East with a 54% chance and a projected 94-68 record. The Orioles own a 45.2% chance and a projected record of 93-69.
