The Baltimore Orioles have seen their bats come to life the past two nights and their performances keep the champagne cold for the New York Yankees.

The Orioles are looking to produce another string of successful at-bats, while the Yankees are looking to finally clinch the American League East on Thursday night when the division rivals meet in the final game of the season series in New York.

Offensive play will be in short supply for both teams, as Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes (15-8, 2.95 ERA) starts against New York’s Gerrit Cole (7-5, 3.67) in a battle of right-handed Cy Young Award winners.

The Orioles (88-70) lead the season series at 8-4, trail the Yankees by four games and would win the division by winning the season series if the teams finished tied. Baltimore won the season series with Tuesday’s victory, preventing the Yankees from clinching a win by blowing a seven-run lead before taking a 9-7 victory on Wednesday.

The Orioles have secured a wild card berth into the playoffs.

Baltimore had 17 hits, tying the third-highest total of the season. 14 of those hits were singles.

Gunner Henderson has three hits and is hitting .387 (12-for-31) in his last seven games. Colton Cowser has driven in three runs and is hitting .344 (11-for-32) in his last nine games.

“It’s been great,” Cowser said of the past two games. “Honestly, I think for me it’s a matter of how many good ABs (at-bats) we can string together. It felt like we just missed the big one the last couple months.

“And I think it’s important to just string together quality at-bats and keep trying to pile on as many days as possible. We’ve been able to do that and I think it’s great to get some of these guys back.”

The Yankees (92-66) are hoping to finally secure their second division title in three seasons. Aaron Judge hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning, has a Major League-leading 57 home runs and has gone deep in his last four games.

Juan Soto also hit a home run and added an RBI single on a night when the Yankees finished the game with 10 hits.

“Nothing has been easy for us,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “You wouldn’t expect it now, but we’ve held on to it all and soldiered through it.”

Cole has allowed two runs or fewer in nine of his last 12 outings, making his final regular-season start before the postseason. He is coming off his longest outing this season.

After allowing seven runs in 4 1/3 innings in a 7-1 home loss to the Boston Red Sox on Sept. 14, Cole earned the victory by allowing one run and two hits in nine innings in Friday’s 4-2, 10-inning victory at Oakland.

Cole is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in two starts this season against the Orioles. In his career, the right-hander is 6-3 with a 2.57 ERA in 14 starts against Baltimore.

Burnes is coming off two straight scoreless outings against the Detroit Tigers. Burnes has allowed five hits and 15 total strikeouts in 14 innings during a pair of wins over the Tigers. He has allowed two or fewer earned runs in five straight outings since allowing 13 total earned runs in losses to the Red Sox and Houston Astros last month.

The right-handed pitcher allowed two runs on four hits in six innings during a 2-0 loss to the Yankees on May 1 in Baltimore. He threw eight hitless innings on Sept. 10, 2023, for the Milwaukee Brewers in New York in a no-decision.

–Field Level Media