Yankees Take Two of Three in Baltimore in Exciting, Important Series
In the last series before the All-Star break, the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles faced off in an important A.L. East matchup. Aaron Judge and Gunnar Henderson faced off and are both running away in the MVP race. After losing the divisional lead in June, Baltimore came into the series up two games on the struggling Yankees, as New York had to make up some much-needed ground in the division. The Yankees have been in a monumental slump since Giancarlo Stanton landed on the injured list on June 23rd with a left hamstring strain, going a measly four and 12 during that span going into this series. On the other hand, the Orioles have been hot, gaining three and a half games on the Yankees in that time frame. Let’s dive into this exciting three-game set.
The Yankees took a much-needed, temper-flaring Game One Friday night. Judge only had one official at-bat, as he walked four times, but demolished a solo shot in the third. Gerrit Cole is picking up his stride throwing six innings, striking out seven, and giving up one. However, the ninth inning is when things started to get frisky. Yankees closer Clay Holmes came out for the ninth, amid a four-to-one Yankees lead, but he plunged Orioles rookie Heston Kjerstead in the head, sending him to the 10-day injured list. We saw Judge get hit in the last series both teams played, and Henderson proceeded to get hit the next day. Because of this, there was already tension between both teams, which did not help. After tending to Kjerstead, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde started chirping at the Yankees dugout, which led to a benches-clearing brawl. After everything calmed down, Holmes nailed down a four-to-one victory.
Austin Wells hit a grand slam in the first and the Yankees never looked back. Luis Gil has bounced back nicely after a few bad starts, as he threw six innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts. In the fifth, Yankees fans saw something they hoped to see for years to come, as Judge and Juan Soto hit back-to-back solo shots. Ryan Mountcastle plated the lone run for Baltimore, even though the offense put together 10 hits. Grayson Rodriguez pitched five innings, gave up all six runs, and struck out seven.
The third game of the series was nothing short of pure baseball cinema for Baltimore fans. After Trent Grisham singled in a run in the second, Henderson took little time to take the lead for Baltimore, hitting a two-run shot in the third off Carlos Rodon. Rodon continued his recent struggles, barely making it out of the fourth inning. Grisham hit a solo shot in the fifth tying the game, but Anthony Santander quickly took the lead back with a solo shot of his own. Now, we fast forward to the ninth, as this was one of the craziest ninth innings you’ll ever see. After Grisham and Oswaldo Cabrera walked, rookie Ben Rice hit a three-run shot. His hot streak continues, as Yankee fans couldn’t be happier with how Anthony Rizzo’s replacement is playing. However, the bottom of the ninth was pure cinema for Baltimore.
Now, in the bottom of the ninth, with the Yankees and Orioles tied for first place, Holmes needed three outs to give New York sole possession of first place. After a base hit and a pair of walks, they’re just one out away. If I told you there was a soft ground ball to Anthony Volpe, you would’ve said the Yankees completed the sweep, right? The game didn’t end there, as Volpe bobbled the ground ball. New York still has a five-to-four lead, however, so they still need one out to win the game. But, after Alex Verdugo slipped on a Cedric Mullins fly ball, Baltimore walked off the game. Baltimore now has sole possession of the first place and is six and four against their division rival. This game can prove important down the stretch.
