BALTIMORE _ More than a few times this season Aaron Boone has been asked to recall the first time he saw Miguel Andujar in the batting cage.
And one phrase, every time, has been a part of Boone's answer.
The first-year Yankees manager knew from early spring training Andujar with a bat in his hands "was something special."
That didn't translate into consistent playing time until Brandon Drury got hurt early this season, but once he replaced the since-traded third baseman, Andujar seized the opportunity.
And the righty-hitting 23-year-old hasn't let up, establishing himself as the front-runner for AL Rookie of the Year honors.
The march to that award, which now seems an inevitable end, continued in the first game of Saturday's double header against the Orioles.
Andujar had two hits, including a game-turning three-run homer that helped send the Yankees to a 10-3 victory in front of 32,445 at Camden Yards.
It was a rare easy win this season for the Yankees (81-47) vs. the Orioles (37-92), against whom they're now just 8-6 in 2018.
J.A. Happ, 4-0 with a 2.22 in his first four starts as a Yankee, made it 5-0 Saturday afternoon. The veteran left-hander allowed two runs _ all in the second inning _ and five hits over six innings. Happ walked one and struck out nine
Andujar had four RBIs, one coming on an RBI ground out in the first inning and three more coming in the third when he hit a three-run homer, his 21st, off Jimmy Yacabonis that snapped a 2-2 tie.
Andujar came into the day leading all MLB rookies in average (.297), extra-base hits (58), doubles (36) and multi-hit games (41).
The Yankees had 11 hits, three by the previously slumping Aaron Hicks, who hit his 21st homer and finished a triple shy of the cycle, and two each by Andujar, Shane Robinson and Gleyber Torres, who hit his 19th homer.
The Bombers gave Happ a lead before he threw a pitch. After leadoff man Brett Gardner struck out, Giancarlo Stanton, who walked three times Friday night, walked. Hicks, in a 2-for-21 skid coming in but the victim of some bad luck the night before when he hit two bullets but right at fielders, launched a double into the gap in left-center. Andujar's ground out to short made it 1-0.
Happ quickly provided a shutdown inning, striking out two in the 13-pitch frame, but he gave up the lead in the bottom half, a 38-pitch inning.
Chris Davis worked a one-out walk and chugged to third on Tim Beckham's double. Renato Nunez fell behind 0-and-1 before lining a two-run single to left-center that made it 2-1.
The Yankees responded.
Robinson, getting the start in right, led off the third with a single and Gardner walked. Stanton lined to left but Hicks delivered an RBI single to right, tying it at 2, and Andujar whacked a hanging 1-and-0 slider to left-center to make it 5-2.
Happ rebounded from his rough second inning with an 11-pitch third, and the Yankees then knocked Yacabonis, who allowed six runs and five hits, from the game.
Robinson doubled with one out in the fourth, which was enough for Buck Showalter to mercifully pull the plug on Yacabonis.
In came righty Ryan Meisinger and Gardner greeted him by sending a 1-and-1 fastball nearly onto Eutaw street in right for his 11th homer that made it 7-2.
Andujar led off the fifth with single and, after Walker struck out, Torres single to put runners at the corners. Luke Voit, starting a second straight game at first in place of the slumping Greg Bird, stroked an RBI single to left to make it 8-2.
