BALTIMORE — Even the X-ray machine delivered good news to the Yankees’ clubhouse.
When Didi Gregorius was drilled on the back of the left hand late in the Yankees’ 8-3 victory over the putrid Orioles on Tuesday night, there was a chance the impressive win would have a hefty price tag attached. And the way the shortstop was shaking his hand indicated there was a problem even though Gregorius remained in the game.
“I told them I was fine but they just wanted to do it,’’ Gregorius said of the X-ray. “I am good. I think it will be fine.’’
Outside of a sloppy eighth inning when the issue was no longer in doubt, everything about the Yankees was fine. Brett Gardner and Matt Holliday homered twice and Luis Severino delivered a second straight solid outing that was witnessed by a quaint Camden Yards crowd of 16,126.
The victory hiked the Yankees’ record to 30-19 and kept them three lengths ahead of the second-place Red Sox in the AL East in a season that is close to nearing the one-third mark and no longer can be considered early.
Gardner opened the game with a homer off Chris Tillman and two batters later Holliday did the same. Holliday got Tillman in the third and Gardner took Logan Verrett out in the fourth.
With each having 11 homers, a friendly back-and-forth has surfaced between Gardner and Holliday.
“We have a competition going, which is kind of sad because I am 50 pounds heavier and much taller,’’ Holliday said.
Gardner said he isn’t sure he can keep pace across the final four months of the season but is enjoying the action.
“We are right there neck and neck but he is a big guy in the middle of the order and I don’t know how long I can hang with him but we are just having fun,’’ Gardner said. “I am trying my best to keep up with the big guys.’’
Aaron Judge is certainly among the big guys and he delivered a two-run double in the fourth that hiked his RBI total to 37.
“He is a little ball of muscle,’’ Judge said of Gardner.
Meanwhile, Severino suddenly is turning into a pretty big part of the Yankees’ rotation that has been better than anyone could have predicted when the season opened. After failing as a starter a year ago, Severino was among the biggest rotation questions at the end of spring training.
Now he has put together back-to-back solid outings and was in command for the 6 ¹/₃ innings he worked.
“His stuff is elite,’’ Holliday said of Severino (4-2), who allowed one run, seven hits (all singles), and walked one.
Even in the sixth inning, when the Orioles, who have dropped eight of nine, scored a run against Severino it was on three infield singles to short and a walk.
Tillman, who missed the first five weeks of the season with right shoulder bursitis, was ambushed early and often.
“They came out hacking and they didn’t stop,’’ said Tillman who gave up five runs and seven hits in 2 ²/₃ innings.
Gardner and Holliday led a muscle-flexing show. Severino took another step forward and the X-ray machine didn’t spit out a negative displaying a fractured bone on the back of Gregorius’ hand.
Even through the mist that smothered the Inner Harbor, it was easy to see Tuesday was one of the better nights for the Yankees.