The Yankees didn't just beat the Orioles this week in Baltimore, they buried them. New York closed out the series with a 6-1 win that completed a 3-game sweep, and the deciding game turned into a full-lineup power display, with Ben Rice, Jasson Dominguez, Luis Garcia Jr. and Spencer Jones all going deep at various points across the series.
Rice got things going early, and Barstool Baseball didn't hold back describing it.
Ben Rice absolutely pissed on this ball. My goodness https://t.co/JeNrm1omQm
Gerrit Cole was the real story of the finale, though. Cole is still building back from Tommy John surgery that wiped out his entire 2025 season, and he didn't make his 2026 debut until late May. Since the calendar flipped to July he's made 9 starts, gone at least 5 innings in every single one of them, and cleared 6 innings in all but two, per Eric Hubbs — a run of consistency that's dragged his season ERA down to 3.11.
Gerrit Cole dicing up the Orioles? Must be a day that ends in “y”. https://t.co/16cmZFF5xK
Cole finished the night having allowed just one run over six innings with eight strikeouts, moving to 7-6 on the season, according to reporting on the game. Dylan Beavers' fifth-inning solo homer was the lone blemish, and it was actually the second time this series Beavers had gone deep against New York's pitching staff.
Once Cole handed things off, the Yankees' bats made sure there was no path back for Baltimore. Luis Garcia Jr. detonated a 413-foot, 107.1 mph blast, and Spencer Jones followed it up by ending Kyle Bradish's night with a solo shot of his own that pushed the lead to 5-1.
Ryan Yarbrough closed it out in relief, retiring all 9 batters he faced for his third save, and the Yankees walked away with the sweep and their momentum trending in the right direction. The win pulled New York within 4 games of AL East-leading Tampa Bay, while Baltimore has now dropped 4 straight after briefly holding sole possession of a wild-card spot.
Yankees sweep the Os who midas whale not have even shown up this week. Yankees now 4 back in the division! https://t.co/Ug6AgwfaYR
There was a bit of controversy stitched into the series too — a disputed foul-ball ruling on a would-be Pete Alonso go-ahead homer had Barstool's crew fuming — but it didn't end up mattering. The Yankees left Baltimore having outscored, outpitched and outhomered the Orioles for three straight games, and with the division race tightening, that's exactly the kind of series a contender needs in late August.