NEW YORK -- In three weeks, Gary Sanchez has helped the New York Yankees stay within striking distance in the race for the American League wild card.Sanchez and the Yankees get an opportunity to inch closer to a team holding one of the wild-card spots when they open a three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night at Yankee Stadium.The Yankees will face the Orioles in each of the next two weekends and begin 4 1/2 games out of the second wild-card spot.When Sanchez was promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre, the Yankees were 53-53 and 5 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox for the second wild-card spot. Their smallest deficit since Sanchez was called up was 3 1/2 games from Aug. 11-13.Since his promotion, Sanchez has hit nine home runs and New York has won 12 of its last 20 games to get to 65-61. Sanchezs latest home run occurred during Wednesdays 5-0 win in Seattle, which capped a 4-2 West Coast trip.Sanchez has become the Yankees regular catcher while moving veteran Brian McCann to being the regular designated hitter. After his latest home run, Sanchez is batting .389 with an OPS of 1,297.You feel like hes going to hit the ball hard is what you feel, New York manager Joe Girardi said. And youre not sure where its going to end up but you feel like hes going to hit the ball real hard. Hes been locked in and its been fun to watch.Sanchez is one of five major leaguers since 1913 with nine or more home runs in his first 21 games. He also is one of nine with 15 or more extra bases in his first 21 games.As much as fans enjoy hearing those things, none of those accolades matter to Sanchez.I understand it, but the focus is not about me, its about winning games here, Sanchez said through a translator. Thats where my focus is, go out there, play hard and win some games.The Yankees did some winning in their last encounter with the Orioles by taking the first three games by a 14-2 margin before Chris Tillman pitched seven outstanding innings in Baltimores 4-1 win on July 21.To demonstrate how much has changed since those games, 10 players who were on New Yorks active roster will not be with the team Friday due to injuries, demotions or trades.Baltimore moved into first place with its second series win against the Yankees June 3-5 but when it left the Bronx it was a half-game out of first place. The Orioles (70-57) have spent 111 days in first place, have not held a share of the division lead since Aug. 15 and trail the Blue Jays and Red Sox by one game.The Orioles dropped 2 1/2 games out when it gave up 32 runs in a three-game sweep by the Houston Astros last weekend. Baltimore recovered decently by scoring 22 times in taking three of four against the Washington Nationals.Chris Davis, Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop and Mark Trumbo homered in the series. The quartet has combined for 118 of Baltimores major league-leading 197 home runs. Neither player connected Thursday as the Orioles struck out 10 times and mustered three hits in a 4-0 loss.Good series for us, Baltimore center fielder Adam Jones said. We took it to a good team and tonight they took it to us. I think overall it was a good series. We played well. Pitchers threw the ball extremely well. Now lets go to New York and do the same thing. Important series.Jones had one of those hits before leaving with a leg cramp but he said he expects to play Friday.Jones and the Orioles will be healthier than their last visit to New York when a flu bug hit the team and forced Machado, Davis and Showalter to miss games.While Sanchez is part of the Yankees attempt to get younger bats in their lineup, Luis Cessa is making his second career start out of necessity. Cessa and Chad Green are in the Yankees rotation because Nathan Eovaldi is having elbow surgery and Luis Severino is in the minors.Cessa made an impressive debut in New Yorks rotation last Saturday when he allowed two hits in six shutout innings during a 5-1 win at the Los Angeles Angels.For all its prowess at the plate, Baltimore has struggled on the mound at times by posting a 4.38 ERA. Those struggles include Yovani Gallardo, who starts Friday and has a 5.08 ERA.Gallardo is 1-4 with a 4.66 ERA in his last 10 starts though he has pitched decently in four starts this month. 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Leaf had 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and fellow freshman Lonzo Ball added 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as No.2 UCLA overpowered UC Santa Barbara 102-62 on Wednesday night.Aaron Holiday had 20 points for the Bruins (11-0), who led by 24 points at halftime and were never threatened by the outmanned Gauchos (1-7).It was the fifth time this season the Bruins scored at least 100 points.Ami Lakoju had 12 rebounds and 11 points, and Gabe Vincent added 10 points for the Gauchos.Santa Barbara outrebounded UCLA 50-46 but shot only 30.1 percent (25 of 83).The Bruins played their second consecutive game without starting center Thomas Welch, who is out with a bruised right heel.---No. 4 BAYLOR 89, SOUTHERN U. 59WACO, Texas -- Johnathan Motley had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Baylor.The Bears (9-0) hadnt played since a 76-61 win over then-No. 7 Xavier on Dec. 3, but scored 15 of the games first 18 points and shot 64 percent in the first half to put it away early.Jared Sam and Shawn Prudhomme scored 24 points each to lead Southern (4-6). They combined to shoot 18 for 27 from the field, but the rest of the Jaguars combined to make five field goals.---No. 14 WISCONSIN 73, GREEN BAY 59MADISON, Wis. -- Nigel Hayes scored 24 points to lead Wisconsin.Zak Showalter added 16 points, including a career-high four 3-pointers, and Ethan Happ had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Badgers (10-2).The Badgers were a little lethargic to start and trailed Green Bay 12-11 almost 9 minutes into the game. But they reeled off a 20-4 run that included a nearly 5-minute scoreless drought for the Phoenix (4-6).Green Bay cut the lead to seven earlly in the second half.dddddddddddd But Wisconsin responded with a 25-8 run that blew the game open.Kerem Kanter led Green Bay with 18 points.---No. 19 ARIZONA 64, GRAND CANYON 54TUCSON, Ariz. -- Kobi Simmons scored 13 points and Rawle Alkins added 11 points and eight rebounds for Arizona.Arizona (9-2) started ragged, built a 16-point lead in the first half and allowed Grand Canyon to claw most of the way back due to a rash of turnovers.The Wildcats had 19 turnovers overall and struggled shooting in the second half before wearing down the Antelopes for their 39th straight non-conference home win.Grand Canyon (5-5) kept No. 11 Louisville within reach until late last week and did the same against Arizona.DeWayne Russell had 19 points, but had to work for it against the physical Wildcats. He hit 8 of 21 shots, including 1 of 7 from 3-point range.Oscar Frayer scored all 16 of his points in the second half for Grand Canyon.---No. 20 SAINT MARYS 73, WESTERN KENTUCKY 51MORAGA, Calif. -- Jock Landale had 15 points and 13 rebounds and Saint Marys jumped to a quick lead it never relinquished.Evan Fitzner scored eight of his teams first 12 points as the Gaels took control from the tip. He finished with 11 points and three 3-pointers, while Emmett Naar had 14 points and six assists.Landale went 7 for 13 from the field and is shooting 65 of 99 -- 65.6 percent -- on the season for the Gaels (8-1), who used a late 13-2 run in the first half for a 38-24 lead.Justin Johnson and Que Johnson each scored 11 points to lead Western Kentucky (4-6). Wholesale NFL Hoodies Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Black Jerseys NFL Jerseys From China Cheap NFL T-shirts Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Discount NFL Jerseys ' ' '