The Orioles were two outs from handing one of baseball’s best pitchers his first loss. One of baseball’s best hitters made sure that didn’t happen.
Baltimore built a four-point lead over New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole and was two outs away from another series opener before reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge, homered Felix Bautista, closer to the Orioles, with one out in the ninth to tie the game. An inning later, Anthony Volpe’s sacrifice over Bryan Baker gave New York a 6-5 win.
The judge’s home run meant Orioles starter Kyle Bradish’s pursuit of victory over an AL East opponent continued. Although Baltimore’s four-point advantage evaporated with Bradish on the mound, he came out in position for his first win in 16 division starts. Instead, he remains 0-8 with a 7.86 ERA despite going 6-0 with a 2.14 ERA in his other 15 starts. A run in the top of the sixth, scored on the base-laden field of Terrin Vavra, meant Bradish started with a lead and was Baltimore’s fifth tie against Cole, who went 5-0 with a 2.01 ERA.
The Orioles (31-17) hit early against one of baseball’s best pitchers. Cole walked Anthony Santander and Ryan Mountcastle in the first before Adam Frazier scored the two with a brace that narrowly escaped right fielder Aaron Judge’s diving attempt. After finishing April hitting .220 with a .663 OPS, Frazier entered Tuesday batting .288 with a .840 OPS in May.
Solo home runs by Cedric Mullins and Gunnar Henderson at third and fourth, respectively, extended the Orioles’ lead to four. Mullins pushed Cole past two runs allowed for only the second time in 11 starts. Henderson continued his turnaround in May and made him the youngest Oriole to homer in a regular-season game at either version of Yankee Stadium since Eddie Murray in 1977.
The Yankees’ rally against Bradish begins there, with Harrison Bader in the bottom of the fourth. Two singles opened the fifth before Bradish pulled the judge off on a lineout, but Anthony Rizzo doubled in a run. DJ LeMahieu singled in another past Bader who tied the game on a sacrifice fly.
After Mychal Givens worked a scoreless sixth, Yennier Cano pitched two scoreless innings to hand the game to Bautista, who couldn’t keep the lead.
around the horn
- Infielder Ramón Urías, on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left hamstring, will begin a rehab assignment on Wednesday as the designated hitter for High-A Aberdeen.
- Right-hander Dillon Tate (right elbow flexor strain) allowed a run in two-thirds of an inning during his final outing in rehab on Tuesday for Triple-A Norfolk. Pitcher rehab assignments can’t extend beyond 30 days, and Tate will hit that benchmark on Wednesday. By Thursday, the Orioles will likely activate him from the 15-day injured list or opt him out. Tate still has two minor league options.
- Outfielder Kyle Stowers was placed on Norfolk’s seven-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation.
This story will be updated.
Orioles at the Yankees
Wednesday, 7:05 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9FM, 101.5FM, 1090AM
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