Baltimore @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 23, 2015 ) Baltimore 3, NY Yankees 9

The New York Yankees have their sights set on an American League East title and a lot will be determined by how they perform at home the rest of the way. New York plays 15 of the final 27 regular-season contests at Yankee Stadium and continues its 10-game homestand Monday when the struggling Baltimore Orioles visit for the first of three.

Didi Gregorius is 19-for-39 with three homers and 14 RBIs over his last 10 outings for the Yankees, who trail first-place Toronto by 1 ½ games in the AL East after taking two of three from Tampa Bay over the weekend. New York’s Alex Rodriguez had a pair of homers in the last series, pulling him within two of his 15th season with at least 30 blasts and first since 2010. The Yankees must contain Baltimore slugger Chris Davis, who is 8-for-19 with five homers and eight RBIs during a five-game hitting streak. The Orioles have lost 14 of their last 17 games to drop out of contention for a playoff spot.

TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, ESPN, MASN (Baltimore), YES (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles LH Wei-Yin Chen (8-7, 3.36 ERA) vs. Yankees Michael Pineda (10-8, 4.07)

Chen lost his last outing against Tampa Bay when he allowed five runs and nine hits – two homers – over 4 2/3 innings after winning the previous four decisions. The 30-year-old Taiwan native is 4-2 with a 3.02 ERA in 11 starts on the road this season. Bench player Jose Pirela (4-for-5) and third baseman Chase Headley (4-for-9) have had success versus Chen, who is 3-5 with a 4.71 ERA in 12 career starts against the Yankees.

Pineda yielded one run and four hits over six innings with seven strikeouts and no walks last time out to beat Boston after suffering through a three-game losing streak. The 26-year-old has struck out 127 in 128 1/3 innings, but opponents are batting .276 against him overall. Jimmy Paredes (4-for-6) and Adam Jones (7-for-20, one homer) have been tough on Pineda, who is 2-1 with a 5.60 ERA in three starts versus Baltimore in 2015.

WALK-OFFS

1. Baltimore C Matt Wieters (left wrist) has missed the past two games and his status is uncertain for the series.

2. New York C Brian McCann hit his career-high 25th homer Sunday to finish the series 2-for-4 with a pair of blasts, four RBIs, four runs scored and four walks.

3. The Orioles have committed the least errors in the AL (58) and the Yankees are in the bottom half of the league with 80.

PREDICTION: Orioles 4, Yankees 3