Another look at a rough series opener

NEW YORK - The Orioles are seeing a new-look New York Yankees team this weekend. They have traded Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman, Carlos Beltran and Ivan Nova since the last time they faced the Orioles, right after the All-Star break. They also released Alex Rodriguez.

But the younger lineup has produced a team that is 10-5 over its past 15 games and 14-9 this month. And one that thumped the Orioles 14-4 last night.

Before Friday's game, O's skipper Buck Showalter talked about the different look of this New York team.

"They've got some young players playing with that nice abandon that you like to see them play with," he said. "They've got nothing to lose and are trying to make their mark. They've got a lot of good things going on right now. If you were going to pick teams, you really didn't want to play this time of year, it might be them."

Showalter said he was definitely not surprised that they are winning after the trades.

"No, you expect that," he said. "It is kind of like the perfect storm for them. There is kind of a re-energizing. Now you have a clear direction of how you are going to do things. I'm sure Brian (Cashman) and Joe (Girardi) are excited about it. You kind of get to the basics of why we do what we do. Biggest thing managers miss is coaching. That is why spring training is so fun for us. We actually get to go on the field and coach as opposed to do this (interviews)."

The Yankees are a season-high five games over .500 at 66-61 and are 3 1/2 games behind the Orioles for the second American League wild card spot. While the Orioles are two games out in the AL East, they lead that second wild card spot by one game over Detroit and by two games over Seattle.

After his bullpen needed to cover 6 2/3 more innings last night, Showalter was asked if even more 'pen changes are coming.

"Sure, we've got some people available," he said. "Nothing that a good start from a starting pitcher wouldn't help more than anything. We've had some good ones. We didn't have one (Friday). Yovani (Gallardo's) been throwing the ball pretty well. (Friday), he didn't."

Not his night: Gallardo recorded just four outs and it was the shortest start of his career. He allowed eight runs (seven earned) and six hits and is now 4-6 with a 5.79 ERA. His poor outing came at a poor time: the start of an important series and at a time when the Orioles have Chris Tillman and Darren O'Day on the disabled list.

"Guys are hurt," Gallardo said "You never want to lose anybody throughout the year, but things like that are going to happen. We've got to step up, we've got to step up and do everything we can to keep winning ballgames until those guys are able to get healthy and come back."

Gallardo's eight runs allowed last night are a season high and his most since giving up eight on April 27, 2012 at St. Louis.

Unsightly pitching numbers: You might want to divert your eyes for a second. Last night was the third time in the last eight games that the O's staff has allowed 12 or more runs. Over those eight games, O's pitchers have given up 62 runs and they've allowed 26 the past three games.

The O's recent bullpen numbers are bad - a 'pen ERA of 10.66 the last three games and 8.49 the last eight games. That has raised the season ERA for the O's bullpen from 3.20 to 3.62 in just eight games.

Gary the great: Yankee catcher Gary Sanchez is taking the major leagues by storm. He went 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs last night. Over his last 10 games, he is batting .541 (20-for-37) with eight homers and 14 RBIs.

Last night, Sanchez became the third player in major league history to hit 10 homers in his first 22 career games, joining Colorado's Trevor Story (2016) and Boston's George Scott (1966).

Speaking of homers: The Orioles are closing in on a milestone homer. Their next longball will be the 200th hit this year. That will give the Orioles five straight years with 200 or more homers. The streak began with 214 in 2012 followed by 212 in 2013, 211 in 2014 and 217 last year.

When Manny Machado hit his 30th and 31st homers Friday, this O's team became the first in club history with three players with 30 or more homers. Mark Trumbo has 38, Machado 31 and Chris Davis 30. Adam Jones, with 24, has a chance to get there.

Jones left last night's game with a left hamstring strain. We'll find out later today if he can play this afternoon, which seems unlikely. Are more roster moves coming again today for the outfield, the bullpen or both?