(Photo credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images)

Max Fried struck out 13 batters across seven shutout innings and set a career high with his 18th win as the New York Yankees beat the host Baltimore Orioles 7-0 on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series.

The Yankees (86-67) have won six of their last eight games as they continue to stay within striking distance of first-place Toronto in the American League East. With the Blue Jays losing earlier in the day, this win cut the division margin to three games with nine left to play.

Fried (18-5), who held the Orioles to three singles and one walk, struck out three batters in both the third and sixth innings. He has won five consecutive starts.

Paul Blackburn pitched the final two innings to complete the shutout, adding two strikeouts.

Paul Goldschmidt and Austin Wells each had two hits for the Yankees, who have won three games in a row. New York racked up nine hits and eight walks.

The Orioles (72-81), who occupy last place in the AL East, had a three-game winning streak snapped as they managed only three hits.

Baltimore starter Cade Povich (3-8) took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits with four walks and five strikeouts in five innings.

New York went up 2-0 in the first inning on Amed Rosario's two-out, two-run double. Wells knocked in Anthony Volpe, who had doubled, in the fifth for a 3-0 edge.

The Yankees struck for four runs in the seventh off reliever Chayce McDermott, who retired only one of six batters he faced - and that came on Aaron Judge's sacrifice fly. Goldschmidt's run-scoring single and Giancarlo Stanton's two-run double were the other run-producing moments in the inning.

The Orioles barely threatened, though they did put two runners on base in the sixth inning on Ryan Mountcastle's one-out single and Gunnar Henderson's two-out single before a Tyler O'Neill strikeout stranded them. They stranded five runners on base in the game and were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position.

New York has won four of the seven meetings between the teams so far this season.

--Field Level Media