BALTIMORE (AP) — Gerrit Cole pitched six sharp innings, Luis García Jr. and Spencer Jones homered and the New York Yankees completed a three-game sweep in Baltimore with a 6-1 victory over the Orioles on Thursday night.
Cole (7-6) allowed four hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. A fifth-inning homer by Dylan Beavers produced the lone Baltimore run. The Yankees pulled within four games of AL East-leading Tampa Bay.
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Ryan Yarbrough relieved Cole and pitched three perfect innings for his third save.
The Orioles have dropped four in a row after briefly taking sole possession of the lead in the race for the final American League wild card. Kyle Bradish (7-12) allowed three earned runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, and Baltimore also permitted a pair of unearned runs in the third.
With men on first and third and nobody out that inning, second baseman Jackson Holliday fielded a tough grounder and threw to second, but shortstop Gunnar Henderson dropped the ball for an error and everyone was safe.
With a run already in, Bradish induced a double play, but Ben Rice followed with an RBI single and then Heliot Ramos brought in a run with a double that made it 3-0.
Beavers' drive to right made it 3-1, but García and Jones answered with solo shots to chase Bradish in the sixth. Jazz Chisholm Jr. tripled in a run in the eighth.
There was no controversy about this New York win, a night after Pete Alonso's deep fly ball against the Yankees was ruled foul with the game tied. Alonso did single twice Thursday to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.
Cole (1,015) moved one strikeout ahead of Roger Clemens for 12th place on the Yankees' career list.
The Yankees return home to face Toronto on Friday night. Cam Schlittler (10-6) takes the mound for New York.
Baltimore hosts Tampa Bay, with Trevor Rogers (8-8) starting for the Orioles.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
