A 17-5 beatdown of their AL East rival is enough to get even the most passive Baltimore Orioles fan to pay attention. The Orioles ran over the New York Yankees in their rubber match on Thursday afternoon in the Bronx.
The Yanks were embarrassed by a final score that looked more like a gridiron battle between the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Giants rather than a 12-run margin of victory on the baseball diamond. This was a statement series for the O's and their fanbase.
New York may have won the opening game of the three-game set 4-2, but the Orioles outscored the Yankees 24-11 over the final two contests and pulled to within half-game of their bitter division rival.
Orioles demolishing Yankees has fans talking endless trash after heated series
This was certainly a heated series as there's no love lost between both franchises. Baltimore is the young upstart group looking to knock off the high-dollar, top dog in the division. Heading into the 2024 season, most experts and pundits expected the AL East to come down to a battle between the Yanks and O's, and rounds one and two have gone to the good guys (if you're an Orioles fan).
Predictably, the social media reactions were about what you'd expect after the thrashing the Orioles dished out on Thursday. And the Yankees faithful were left grasping at straws.
This series got interesting after Aaron Judge was hit by a pitch on Tuesday. Things only got more intense with some barking from the New York clubhouse about the way in which Baltimore's pitching staff threw up and in.
The heat got turned up even more on Wednesday after Baltimore's budding superstar Gunnar Henderson was plunked by the Yankees. But Henderson and the Orioles let their bats do the talking on Thursday afternoon with their 22nd consecutive AL East series win or tie. That's sheer dominance on the part of the O's.
Orioles fans are taking a victory lap today, and it's well earned. Baltimore had been in the AL East baseman for so long, and after the rebuild, the team is finally coming into its own. Baltimore is now 5-2 versus New York this season. The O's and Yanks will meet before the All-Star break at Camden Yards in what's sure to be a barnburner of a series.