Rookie monster: Sanchez leads Yanks by O's

NEW YORK -- Gary Sánchez made history as he slugged the 11th home run of a blistering rookie month to remember, while Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks also launched deep drives in powering the Yankees past the Orioles, 13-5, on Saturday at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees posted a double-digit run total for the second consecutive game, thumping right-hander Dylan Bundy for five runs and seven hits over four innings.
Castro and Hicks each collected three RBIs to pace the squad, slugging a pair of two-run homers in the fifth inning off T.J. McFarland. The victory moved New York (67-61) a season-high six games over .500, and within 2 1/2 games of the O's (70-58) for the second American League Wild Card slot.

"If we could play like we play right now, we have a chance," Castro said. "I think we never quit. I think we'll just continue to play like we play, coming in here to play hard every day."

Mark Trumbo hit his Major League-leading 39th home run and Chris Davis homered twice off Yankees starter Chad Green, who permitted four runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. Baltimore has now lost eight of its last 12 games. 

"It always is [challenging]. From day one, it's a challenging time," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "What's going on right now doesn't surprise anybody. They've all experienced it. The Yankees have, we have. It happens different times of the season. They're all challenging times, and our guys always seem to respond well."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Gary, still oh so scary: Sanchez became the fastest player in Major League history to reach 11 home runs, doing so in his 23rd career game. Sanchez's fourth-inning blast off Bundy cleared the wall in right-center field and gave the Yankees a 5-2 lead at the time. Statcast™ measured the homer at 370 feet for Sanchez, who was called up on Aug. 3.

"I don't have an explanation for it," Sanchez said through an interpreter. "I'm doing the same routine that I was doing in the Minor Leagues, I'm doing it here. I'm getting really good results right now. That's it."
Let the shuffle continue: The Orioles continued to struggle to pitch in the Bronx, with Bundy's short start giving way to an ugly afternoon. McFarland allowed four earned runs while Mychal Givens gave up three, an almost-sure sign that the O's -- who entered the day short in the bullpen because they added outfielder Julio Borbon -- will have to make yet another move.
"Not good," Bundy said of his outing. "Any time you can't get through five or six innings, it's not a quality start. I didn't give my team a very good chance to win today. That's my fault -- got to get better next time."
Double trouble: The Yankees pushed the envelope with a third-inning double steal that included Didi Gregorius swiping home, but they had to wait out a replay review to celebrate. Gregorius was initially ruled out on the back end, but a review determined that Gregorius' hand touched the plate before he was tagged by catcher Matt Wieters. Brian McCann followed with an RBI single to left field, giving New York a 4-2 lead.
"I think we're more athletic [of late]," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "There's more team speed, and you're able to do some different things."

Davis stays hot: The O's slugger has had two multi-homer games this season, both of which have come in the past 10 days. He hit a two-run shot in the third inning and added a solo blast in the fifth, coming as a back-to-back blast with Trumbo.

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Sanchez's 11 home runs in 20 August games are the most in a calendar month by an American League rookie since Mark McGwire hit 15 for the A's in May 1987.
The Orioles now have five consecutive seasons with at least 200 home runs, dating to 2012. According to STATS, LLC, the last team with five or more consecutive seasons with at least 200 home runs was the 2000-07 Yankees.
WHAT'S NEXT
Orioles:Kevin Gausman gets the start Sunday at 1:05 p.m. ET. The righty will need to overcome his road struggles, as he's 0-9 with a 5.32 ERA away from Camden Yards this season. Gausman hurled six shutout innings against the Nationals his last time out.
Yankees: Mindful of Baltimore's issues against left-handed pitching this season, the Yankees shuffled their rotation and will start CC Sabathia in Sunday's series finale at 1:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium. Sabathia is coming off a victory in which he held the Mariners to a run on three hits over seven innings, walking one and striking out seven.
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