Torres, Sanchez Homers Batter Birds for Bronx Bombers

The 1st place Yankees went down Interstate 95 to Baltimore. Only 16,457 fans came, which is not surprising, given that it was a Monday night, really hot, and the Orioles have been terrible the last couple of years. There sure sounded like a lot of Yankee Fans among them. As Michael Kay once said on a YES Network broadcast, "This is the really South Bronx!"

Those Yankee Fans didn't have much to cheer for at first. J.A. Happ started, and he got rocked, giving up 6 runs in less than 4 innings. Luis Cessa didn't help, adding another run. Despite a Gleyber Torres home run in the 2nd inning,

It was 6-1 Orioles after 5. According to Baseball-Reference.com, at this point, the Yankees had a 5 percent chance of winning the game. They picked up a couple of runs in the 6th, but the O's added another, and it was 7-3 to the home team.

Then came the top of the 7th. Gio Urshela starting things with a single. Brett Gardner lined out, but Cameron Maybin drew a walk. DJ LeMahieu singled Urshela home, and Maybin advanced to 3rd. Aaron Hicks flew to left, and when Maybin tried to score, Dwight Smith Jr. -- son of a former Chicago Cub who was Rookie of the Year, and the son is also a good hitter -- made a bad throw. That made it 7-5 Baltimore.

Jonathan Holder lived up to his name, and held the O's scoreless in the 7th. Zack Britton did the same to his former team in the 8th. In between, Torres hit another home run. Against the Orioles, he hits like the player he was hyped to be. The English soccer song comes to mind: "Can we play you, can we play you, can we play you every week?"

But it was still 7-6 to the Orange & Black going into the 9th inning. Gardner led off with a single. Maybin singled, and when Gardner went to 3rd on the throw, Maybin took advantage and got to 2nd. LeMahieu grounded out, and the runners couldn't advance. But Hicks hit his 2nd sacrifice fly of the game, to tie the score.

Luke Voit drew a walk. Cliche Alert: Walks can kill you. The batter was Gary Sanchez, and he hit the ball almost to the Mason-Dixon Line.

A lot of Yankee Fans -- or, at least, a lot of #YankeesTwitter -- had given up on El Gary. Big mistake. He sure didn't give up last night, and has been doing very well since returning from injury.

Aroldis Chapman walked a batter, but that's as "interesting" as he let it get this time. Yankees 10, Orioles 7. WP: Britton (2-0). SV: Chapman (12). LP: Mychal Givens (0-1).

The series continues tonight. Domingo German starts against David Hess. I wonder if Hess is going to bring the gas. Maybe the Yankees can drive him.