What New York Yankees' Historic Loss Means For Baltimore Orioles

How did the Baltimore Orioles benefit from the New York Yankees' humiliating loss on Monday?

Aug 12, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge reacts after striking out. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles were off on Monday, but they still managed to score a win in the AL East standings.

That's because the New York Yankees suffered a humiliating 12-2 defeat to the Chicago White Sox in their series opener at Guaranteed Rate Field. It was a historic loss for the Yankees, who went 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position and left a whopping 16 men on base. The 12 runs were a season-high for the 29-91 White Sox, who recently tied the 1988 Orioles for the longest losing streak in American League history (21 games) after trading away most of their top talent.

The rout dropped New York to 70-50, half a game behind Baltimore (70-49). The Orioles enter Tuesday's game against the Washington Nationals in sole possession of first place in the AL East and tied with the Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in baseball.

The Yankees lost 12-2 to the White Sox — no, that’s not a typo — which puts the Orioles back in sole possession of first place in the AL East.

Baltimore has a half-game lead over New York. https://t.co/Xoe1itpLru

— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) August 13, 2024

Baltimore has been locked in a tight divisional race with the Yankees all summer. The Orioles have had at least a share of first place every day except for one since June 27, but they haven't been able to pull away. Their biggest lead was three games in early July before they fell into a 4-10 rut.

Baltimore is poised to potentially extend its lead with six games this week at Camden Yards, where the team has a 34-25 record this season. The first two games are against the 54-65 Nationals, followed by four games against the reeling Boston Red Sox, who are just 9-13 since the All-Star Break.

Meanwhile, New York's six-game road trip is already off to a terrible start. The Yankees will try to bounce back in their next two games against Chicago before playing three games against the sub-.500 Detroit Tigers.

If New York wants to keep pace with Baltimore, it must take care of business against those middling AL Central opponents.