Friday night Orioles doubleheader game thread: at Yankees, 4:05

The Orioles enter play today 1.5 games out of the final American League playoff spot. They also happen to be 1.5 games behind this series opponent, the Yankees, in the AL East standings.

Alex Cobb returns to the mound for the O’s at 4:05 in the first game of the doubleheader. It’ll be his first appearance since August 29th, when he allowed five runs (four earned) in four innings against the Blue Jays. He was placed on the injured list on September 4th and just got activated today. In seven total starts this season, Cobb has a 4.33 ERA and 4.76 FIP.

Last night’s scheduled Yankees starter, Gerrit Cole, gets the call opposite Cobb. He had an uneven performance in his last start against the Orioles, dominating for the first five innings but falling apart in the 6th with multiple unearned runs. In his first year with the Yankees, Cole is averaging a ghastly 2.3 HR/9.

The second game will feature young Orioles left-hander Keegan Akin, who looks to continue his recent success as a starter. In two starts (totaling 9.2 innings), Akin has only allowed two runs and they were both unearned. Opponents are only batting .176 against him over that stretch and in his previous start he shutout this same Yankees team for 5.1 innings.

Veteran right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, who is 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA, takes the ball for New York in game two. He’s only faced the Orioles once so far this year, when he allowed four runs (two earned) over 5.1 innings just five days ago.

Orioles lineup - Game 1

1. Cedric Mullins CF
2. Jose Iglesias SS
3. DJ Stewart RF
4. Ryan Mountcastle LF
5. Pedro Severino C
6. Renato Nunez DH
7. Rio Ruiz 3B
8. Hanser Alberto 2B
9. Pat Valaika 1B

Alex Cobb RHP

Yankees lineup - Game 1

1. DJ LeMahieu 3B
2. Luke Voit 1B
3. Brett Gardner CF
4. Clint Frazier RF
5. Gleyber Torres SS
6. Gary Sanchez DH
7. Mike Tauchman LF
8. Kyle Higashioka C
9. Tyler Wade 2B

Gerrit Cole RHP