Orioles lineup vs. Yankees in first game of series

NEW YORK – Jordan Westburg is leading off tonight and James McCann is catching as the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Yankees that could flip-flop the top two positions in the division standings.

Gunnar Henderson is batting cleaneup. The Orioles are 43-10 when Henderson homers in his major league career.

Austin Hays is in left field and Colton Cowser is in center. Hays, Cowser and Cedric Mullins took early batting practice this afternoon.

Anthony Santander is batting .295/.353/.721 this month with two doubles, eight home runs and 14 RBIs in 16 games. He hit .207/.294/.415 in May.

The Orioles have homered in 16 consecutive games, the longest streak in the majors this season and their longest since going deep in 18 straight from Sept. 6-24, 2019.

Albert Suárez is making his eighth start and 15^th appearance. He’s 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA and 1.052 WHIP in 44 2/3 innings, with only one home run allowed. He hasn’t surrendered a run in the first inning in any start.

Suárez has never faced the Yankees.

The Orioles selected Nestor Cortes in the 2017 Rule 5 draft but they returned him to the Yankees on April 13 after four relief appearances and a 7.71 ERA. He’s faced the Orioles 10 times and posted a 2.45 ERA and 1.013 WHIP with 66 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings.

Cortes has made 15 starts this season and gone 3-5 with a 3.59 ERA and 1.118 WHIP in 87 2/3 innings. He’s walked 18 batters and struck out 80. He’s posted a 1.77 ERA and 0.81 WHIP at home.

Cortes started against the Orioles on April 30 at Camden Yards and allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings.

Adley Rutschman is 8-for-15 with a double against Cortes. He’s the designated hitter tonight.

Hays is 4-for-20 with six strikeouts, Ryan Mountcastle is 3-for-21 with a double, home run and 11 strikeouts, Mullins is 2-for-21 with nine strikeouts, Santander is 2-for-14 with a double and six strikeouts, and Henderson is 1-for-7 with six strikeouts.

The Orioles trail the Yankees by 1 ½ games in the American League East and are 22-10 on the road. The Yankees are 22-10 at home.

The Orioles won three of four games against the Yankees earlier this season at Camden Yards. They held New York to two runs or fewer in each game, their longest streak against the Yankees since 1971-72 (five), per STATS.

They haven’t lost an American League East series in the last 21, tied with the 1998-2000 Braves, the 1975 Reds and the 1969-70 Reds for the longest streak against a team’s division in major league history.

Bench coach Brad Ausmus is managing the Yankees tonight while Aaron Boone attends his son’s graduation.

First baseman Anthony Rizzo is expected to miss more than a month with a fractured arm. Ben Rice had his contract selected from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The Yankees allowed nine stolen bases in their series finale against the Red Sox, their most in any game since May 19, 1915, also per STATS.

For the Orioles

Jordan Westburg 3B
Adley Rutschman DH
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Gunnar Henderson SS
Anthony Santander RF
Austin Hays LF
Jorge Mateo 2B
Colton Cowser CF
James McCann C

Albert Suárez RHP