Against the best the American League has to offer, the Yankees asserted themselves in all facets.
Nestor Cortes pitched six strong, scoreless innings, holding down a powerful Orioles offense. Clutch hitting led to three runs in the first three innings, which was all that was needed.
The defense, arguably the best in the majors, again was solid and received particular excellence from Gleyber Torres.
A thin bullpen finished the job.
With a 4-2, series-opening win over the Orioles in front of a sellout crowd of 47,429 in The Bronx, the Yankees pushed their AL East lead to 2 ¹/₂ games and ensured they would finish the three-game set in first place.
They hope, though, that Tuesday’s at-times tense victory will not prove pyrrhic.
On an otherwise spotless night, the only blemish was large.
Aaron Judge exited after being drilled in the left hand with a 94 mph fastball and was sent to New York Presbyterian for tests.
There was no immediate update on the team’s captain, who is authoring the beginnings of one of the greatest seasons in baseball history for a second time in three years.
For one night at least, his team didn’t need him.
The Yankees (51-24) opened a six-game homestand with a 14th win in their past 19 games and opened a hyped showdown against the rising juggernaut from Baltimore with crispness.
Against an offense from the Orioles (47-25) that entered having scored the most runs in baseball, Cortes — with velocity spikes that perhaps showed he was raising his game against this level of opponent — scattered five hits and walked none in six strong frames that lowered his ERA to 3.36.
The Yankees provided the lefty a one-run lead in the second that would be enough for Cortes, who was at his best in the big moments.
He allowed two to reach with one out in the first, but stranded them by retiring Gunnar Henderson and Anthony Santander in succession.
In the sixth, Cortes received his loudest round of applause by throwing a 94.6 mph fastball — his second-hardest pitch of the game — up and in to Henderson, who spun safely out of the way.
If this were a response to Judge (and Torres, who was drilled in the hand, too), it only represented a threat, with no pitch plunking an Orioles batter.
Torres then helped Cortes out by stealing a hit from Henderson with a dazzling dive to his left and a throw to first base, which moved Santander to second base before a passed ball moved him to third.
But again, Cortes rose to the moment and induced an inning-ending ground out from Santander on a night the Orioles went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Without Judge for the final five innings, the Yankees finished with just six hits — but several were timely.
Anthony Volpe drove a two-out, RBI single in the second to knock in Austin Wells and give the Yankees a lead that would not be threatened.
Two innings later, the Yankees loaded the bases on Judge’s HBP, and he came around to score following singles from Alex Verdugo and Giancarlo Stanton.
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Call-up Ben Rice knocked his first career hit, a rope into right field, to load the bases before Torres’ sacrifice fly added the Yankees’ third run.
Another sac fly, this one off DJ LeMahieu’s bat in the fifth, concluded their scoring.
Michael Tonkin and Luke Weaver pitched scoreless innings before Clay Holmes surrendered a two-run shot to Santander, but that was all the Orioles could scratch across.
The closer clinched a victory that was as authoritative as it was concerning.