Former Under Armour All-Americans, Kevin Gausman and Greg Bird were once high school teammates, playing alongside each other for the Grandview High School baseball team in Aurora, Colorado.

Greg Bird

It had been quite some time, but their major league paths finally crossed on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium when the Baltimore Orioles’ young pitching phenom (Gausman) faced off against the New York Yankees power-hitting, rookie first baseman (Bird).

The two are very close friends, according to nj.com’s Brendan Kuty, but between the lines, it was Gausman who bested Bird in their matchup in the O’s 2-1 victory over the Yankees in the Bronx. Gausman twice fanned Bird swinging in their head-to-head matchup.

Despite the two strikeouts, Bird, who graduated in 2011 from Grandview, is helping power the Yankees in their stretch run for the A.L. East crown. He hit a big three-run home-run in the 7th inning on Monday afternoon to break a 5-5 tie, giving the Yankees a Labor Day victory. Since being called up on August 13th, Bird is hitting .250 with three doubles, five homers and 17 RBI in 23 games for New York.

Bird was a 2010 Under Armour All-American before being drafted in the 5th round of the 2011 Draft by the New York Yankees and hit .282 with 48 home runs during his time in the Yankees minor league system, establishing himself as one of the organization’s top power-hitting prospects.

Kevin Gausman

Gausman, at 24 years old has finally found himself a place in the Orioles rotation this season, making 13 starts, striking out 75 batters in 87 1/3 innings pitched.

A 2010 graduate of Grandview HS, Gausman was a 2009 Under Armour All-American before moving onto Louisiana State University’s top-notch rotation where he was a First Team All-SEC selection as a sophomore in 2012, posting a 2.77 ERA and striking out 135 batters in 123 2/3 innings pitched.