O's game blog: The series with New York begins in the Bronx

Still looking to clinch an American League playoff berth, with a magic number of two, and still not officially eliminated from AL East contention, the Orioles begin their final road trip of the regular season tonight at Yankee Stadium.

The Orioles can clinch a postseason slot tonight with a win and a loss by either Kansas City or Minnesota. 

Where once we thought this series might be the one to decide the AL East, the Orioles go into it six games behind with six to play, and one Yankees win will clinch them the division title.

The Orioles enter this series with an 86-70 record, clinching their second consecutive season finishing at least 10 games over .500 (101-61 in 2023). It’s the first time Baltimore has finished consecutive seasons 10 games over .500 since a streak of two between 1996 and 1997, per Stats Perform.

New York (92-64) is headed to the postseason for the seventh time in the last eight seasons (since 2017) and it's their 25th trip to the postseason in the last 30 years (since 1995).

While the O's have lost five straight series, going 5-10, New York has won five in a row, going 12-4. 

In those 16 games, New York pitching has excelled. While the Yankees are scoring 4.3 runs per game in this span, their team ERA is 1.96 while allowing a .192 batting average and .560 OPS.

New York is 42-33 at home, 25-24 versus the AL East, 13-7 in September and 34-24 in the second half.

The Orioles are 30-19 against AL East teams this year. They started 19-7 but have gone 11-12 in their last 23 division games.

For the year, Baltimore averages 5.12 runs per game against the AL East with a .783 team OPS and with a team ERA of 3.39.

The Orioles are 6-4 against the Yankees for the season, outscoring New York 47-36 in those 10 games. Their pitchers have a 3.50 ERA in the season series, allowing a .210 batting average and .687 OPS against in the 10 games.

The Orioles went 3-1 at home in April against New York, 2-1 at New York in June and 1-2 at Oriole Park in July.

In the earlier series at Yankee Stadium, thanks in part to a 17-5 win in the finale of that series, the Orioles scored 26 runs on 39 hits. Their three-game OPS in the Bronx of .925 is their best in any ballpark this season.

Aaron Judge hit his major-league-leading 55th homer on Sunday. He leads by two over Shohei Ohtani. The O's Anthony Santander is third with 43 home runs. 

Judge and Santander are 1-2 in the AL in homers. There has been one other time a Yankee and an Oriole have finished top two in the league for home runs. It was in 1976, with New York's Graig Nettles first with 32 and Baltimore's Reggie Jackson tying for second with 27.

Right-hander Dean Kremer (7-10, 4.19 ERA) will make his 24th start and the Orioles are 9-14 in the first 23. Over his last seven starts, Kremer is 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA.

Righty Clarke Schmidt (5-4, 2.37 ERA) starts for New York. While his ERA+ was 93 last season (seven percent below league average), it is 173 now. Over his past seven starts, Schmidt is 2-3 with a 1.35 ERA and .554 OPS. He has allowed two runs or fewer in six of those games.

The Orioles need one win this series to take the season series from New York for the second year in a row. It would be the fifth time with two years in a row or longer for the O's over the Yankees. Here is a list of the most consecutive winning seasons against New York.

9 years - From 1964-1972

3 years - From 1980-1982 and 2014-2016

2 years - From 1976-1977