J.A. Happ To Start The Finale As New York Looks To Sweep Baltimore

After winning the first three games of the series New York will look to sweep Baltimore on Wednesday afternoon with J.A. Happ getting the start for New York against Dylan Bundy of Baltimore who will look to help Baltimore salvage a game out of the series.

However, mother nature could be the deciding factor as to if they get the finale in or not as their might be afternoon thunderstorms. “according to https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/USNY0172:1:US

New York who is leading the American League East comes into the finale with a record of 80-41 while Baltimore who is last in the division comes into the finale with a record of 39-81. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/standings

As stated above, J.A. Happ will start the finale for New York while Dylan Bundy will start for Baltimore. J.A. Happ who is a left-hander comes into the finale with a record of 9-7 with a 5.48 earn run average. Happ continues to search for the consistency that he displayed down the stretch last season. He lost to the Blue Jays last time out, permitting six runs in five innings. Happ has served up a career-high 29 home runs this year. He will oppose Baltimore right -hander Dylan Bundy who comes into the finale with a record of 5-12 with an earn run average of 5.04. Bundy has been pitching better since his seven-run outing against the Rays on July 12. He has posted a 4.03 ERA in his four starts since, but it's still been an up-and-down season for the 26-year-old, who is 5-12 with a 5.04 ERA in 22 starts. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/roster/probable-pitchers

As for New York and Baltimore’s previous game,

Domingo German has been excellent in taking the place of Luis Severino in the rotation who hasn’t pitched for the guys in pinstripes this season because of a shoulder and lat injury.

German turned in one of his most efficient efforts of the year, firing seven strong frames to become the Majors' first 16-game winner, and the Yankees extended their season-long run of dominance over the Orioles, breezing to an 8-3 victory on Tuesday evening at Yankee Stadium. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/domingo-german-gets-mlb-best-16th-victory

"To me, I just went out there with a positive mind and a more detailed plan this time around, looking to get ahead in the count early against those guys," German said through a translator. "I think that was the key tonight." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/domingo-german-gets-mlb-best-16th-victory

Since the Yanks opened the season with two losses in a three-game series against the O's, they have rattled off 15 consecutive wins over Baltimore. The 16 total victories are the Bombers' most against a single opponent since they went 16-6 against the Indians in 1960. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/domingo-german-gets-mlb-best-16th-victory

“It’s been crazy, and it’s not easy to do by any means," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "I just think our guys have had a really good mindset, no matter who we’re playing, frankly. Obviously we’ve had success against [the Orioles] this year, but I think that’s a credit to the guys’ daily focus, hunger, coming in ready to play and ready to compete." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/domingo-german-gets-mlb-best-16th-victory

Gio Urshela became the first Yankee since Alfonso Soriano in 2013 to notch three or more hits in three consecutive games. DJ LeMahieu homered, while Cameron Maybin and Aaron Judge each drove in two runs to chase John Means in the fourth inning. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/domingo-german-gets-mlb-best-16th-victory

More intriguing is how the Yankees plan to handle the next several weeks for German. He has assumed the role of staff ace while filling in for the absent Luis Severino, but Tuesday's effort clicked his season odometer to 120 innings (including four in the Minors). “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/domingo-german-gets-mlb-best-16th-victory

"I feel really good, really strong," German said. "I feel healthy. I feel like I can pitch for a long time. I just feel that my body is in the right shape and the right place to take on how many more innings are to come." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/domingo-german-gets-mlb-best-16th-victory

General manager Brian Cashman has acknowledged that German is approaching a limit, though the team has not made it public -- Cashman resolved that they would not do so with any of their pitchers after riding out the headache that once accompanied Joba Chamberlain's usage guidelines. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/domingo-german-gets-mlb-best-16th-victory

German pitched 93 1/3 innings between the Majors and Triple-A last season, and he has never thrown more than 123 1/3 innings in a pro season. Generally speaking, clubs are loathe to increase workload by more than 30 percent in a season, meaning German is already bumping into a danger zone. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/domingo-german-gets-mlb-best-16th-victory

"Again, we haven’t set any hard limits on him," Boone said. "We haven’t even honestly gotten deep into those conversations yet. We’ll probably get to a point, as we get some guys back, we may alter some things. But honestly, we feel like he’s strong right now and still has a lot left in the tank." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/domingo-german-gets-mlb-best-16th-victory

Boone alluded to the fact that the Yankees could explore skipping German in a turn through the rotation, or scale his innings back in future starts. While German would no doubt prefer to continue pitching without restriction, he is ready to have that conversation whenever the Yanks are. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/domingo-german-gets-mlb-best-16th-victory

"I think if you put a plan in place and you get your mind ready for that, you can just go through that," German said. "I think it's about planning accordingly and then executing." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/domingo-german-gets-mlb-best-16th-victory

Meanwhile Domingo German’s opposition John Means didn’t have such a great outing.

The first half of this season was a dream for John Means, who came out of nowhere to emerge as Baltimore’s upstart ace and a surprise All-Star. The second half? Kind of a drag. “according to https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/john-means-second-half-struggles-continue

Means’ second-half struggles continued on Tuesday, when the rookie left-hander surrendered six runs over 3 2/3 innings in the Orioles’ 8-3 loss to the Yankees. It was the third consecutive abbreviated start for Means, who has watched his ERA mushroom nearly a full run over that stretch. After returning from the All-Star festivities in Cleveland with a 2.50 ERA over his first 18 big league appearances, Means has gone 1-4 with an 8.39 mark in five starts since. “according to https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/john-means-second-half-struggles-continue

“I didn’t have anything tonight,” Means said. “It sucked to not have anything against that lineup. It’s frustrating, but I’ll come back in five days and do better.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/john-means-second-half-struggles-continue

Now two starts removed from missing two weeks with a left biceps strain, Means said it’s mechanical -- not health-related -- issues that have contributed to this recent stretch. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said it is “definitely noticeable” that Means’ stuff and command have not been the same. “according to https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/john-means-second-half-struggles-continue

“He was just off tonight,” Hyde said. “I think he feels fine. I just think he has a tough time commanding the ball right now. He’s just missing up in the zone way too much.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/john-means-second-half-struggles-continue

Means' trouble began early on Tuesday, as he coughed up a leadoff homer to DJ LeMahieu on his first pitch of the night. New York largely cruised from there, using a barrage of extra-base hits to coast to its 15th straight win over Baltimore. The O's 15-game losing streak to the Yanks is their longest in a single season since dropping 17 straight to the Indians in 1954. “according to https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/john-means-second-half-struggles-continue

After the first pitch, obviously going over the wall, there were several mechanical issues going on throughout the day,” Means said. “I recognized it but couldn’t fix it in time.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/john-means-second-half-struggles-continue

Cameron Maybin hit a two-run single in the second, and Aaron Judge connected for a two-run double to chase Means in the fourth, before Gio Urshela and Gary Sanchez added RBI hits against Miguel Castro. That supplied all the support Domingo German needed en route to his MLB-best 16th win, as the right-hander held the Orioles to solo homers by Anthony Santander and Stevie Wilkerson while striking out seven over seven innings. “according to https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/john-means-second-half-struggles-continue

Righty Chandler Shepherd tossed four innings of one-run relief for the O's in his MLB debut, and Renato Nunez added home run No. 26 off Yankees rookie Adonis Rosa in the ninth. “according to https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/john-means-second-half-struggles-continue

“This is where you learn,” Means said. “You learn from failure. You learn from not having success. I think I’m going to grow even more from this.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/john-means-second-half-struggles-continue

All told, it was a quieter chapter in what’s been a season series defined by big flies and hard contact, now one game away from its conclusion. Means played a sizeable role, appearing in five games against New York this season and picking up a win in their third meeting on March 31. But he’s allowed 10 combined earned runs across two starts vs. the Yanks over the past six days. “according to https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/john-means-second-half-struggles-continue

“Last start I felt really, really good, and felt like I just made one bad pitch,” Means said. “This one was the opposite. I just grinded through every single inning. You’re going to have those, especially in your rookie year. You’re just going to have to figure it out.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/john-means-second-half-struggles-continue

First pitch is set for 1:05pm from Yankee Stadium. The game will be televised on MASN and Yes.