New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles: Jordan Montgomery vs. Chris Ellis

Can the Yankees actually finish the job against the Orioles? Entering this series, the Yankees’ play against Baltimore plagued them, having gone 9-7 against the cellar-dwellars on the year. At last, they’re in a position to do what they should: sweep away a team that at times looks less than major league quality.

They’ll have Jordan Montgomery on the mound to do so. Montgomery’s presence on the card has proven a double-edged sword in 2021; it’s typically meant low run outputs for Yankee opponents, but also the Yankees themselves. The left-hander, of course, has just five wins to his name on the year, in spite of a 3.71 ERA and 3.63 FIP. If the Yankees fail to back him up while facing an awful Baltimore pitching staff, the lefty should probably just shrug his shoulders and accept that this season was a bit cursed for him.

Opposite of Montgomery will stand Chris Ellis. A 28-year-old right-hander, Ellis appeared with the Rays early in the year, but hit waivers in August, when Baltimore scooped him up. He’s made just four starts as an Oriole, but has acquitted himself well, to the tune of five runs spread across 17.2 innings. He does possess a lackluster 11-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in that span.

Statcast indicates Ellis has good life on his fastball, a four-seamer that sits at 94 mph and in the 79th percentile in terms of spin rate. He relies on the pitch roughly half the time, while mixing in a slider about a third of the time, with the rest of his offerings consisting mainly of curveballs. He profiles as a fairly standard three-pitch right-hander.

The Yankees’ lineup shuffle will continue, with Luke Voit and DJ LeMahieu heading to the bench. Tyler Wade starts at short, allowing Gio Urshela to shift back to third. Brett Gardner gets another start, this time in the leadoff slot, while Joey Gallo re-enters the fold in left.

How to watch:

Location: Oriole Park at Camden Yards — Baltimore, MD

First pitch: 5:05 p.m. ET

TV Broadcast: YES Network, MASN

Radio Broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280

Online Stream: MLB.tv

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