The Baltimore Orioles’ rough stretch continued Thursday night, as the New York Yankees completed a three-game sweep with a 6-1 win at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Baltimore managed only four hits and struck out 12 times against Gerrit Cole and Ryan Yarbrough, while the Yankees collected 11 hits and took advantage of an Orioles defensive mistake during a decisive three-run third inning. The loss dropped Baltimore to 61-67 and extended its losing streak to four games.
It was a particularly damaging series for an Orioles club that had recently moved into sole possession of the final American League Wild Card position. Instead of building momentum at home against a division rival, Baltimore lost all three games to New York by scores of 3-1, 5-3 and 6-1.
Yankees capitalize on Orioles mistake
Kyle Bradish kept New York off the board through the first two innings, but Baltimore’s defense helped open the door in the third.
Spencer Jones and Austin Wells reached to begin the inning, putting runners at first and third with nobody out. José Caballero then hit a ground ball to Jackson Holliday. Holliday attempted to start a double play, but Gunnar Henderson could not secure the throw at second base.
Henderson was charged with his 15th error of the season, Jones scored and Wells remained on base.
Bradish nearly minimized the damage by inducing a double play, but New York kept the inning alive.
Ben Rice delivered an RBI single to left field to score Wells before Heliot Ramos doubled home Rice, quickly turning the Orioles’ mistake into a 3-0 Yankees advantage.
Two of the five runs charged to Bradish were unearned.
Bradish finished the night allowing eight hits and five runs — three earned — across 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five while throwing 100 pitches, 60 for strikes. The loss dropped Bradish to 7-12 with a 3.70 ERA.
Beavers provides Baltimore’s only offense
Baltimore finally broke through against Cole in the fifth inning.
Dylan Beavers drove a solo home run 386 feet to right field, cutting the Yankees’ lead to 3-1. It was Beavers’ fifth home run of the season and his 26th RBI.
Unfortunately for the Orioles, it would be their only run of the night.
Pete Alonso finished 2-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games. Henderson added Baltimore’s other non-Beavers hit and drew the Orioles’ only walk.
The rest of the lineup struggled badly.
Holliday went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, Samuel Basallo went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, Christian Encarnacion-Strand went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and Colton Cowser also struck out twice.
Baltimore finished 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left four runners on base.
Yankees immediately answer
Any hope created by Beavers’ home run disappeared quickly in the sixth.
Luis García Jr. opened the inning with a 413-foot solo home run off Bradish, restoring New York’s three-run advantage at 4-1.
Two outs later, Jones launched a 398-foot solo shot to left-center field, extending the Yankees’ lead to 5-1 and ending Bradish’s night.
García was one of New York’s biggest offensive threats throughout the game, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a home run and an RBI.
Jones also went 3-for-4 with two runs, a home run, an RBI and a stolen base.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. added the final Yankees run in the eighth when he tripled to right field to score García.
Grant Wolfram gave Baltimore 1 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen before Albert Suárez allowed one run on three hits over the final two innings.
Cole shuts down Orioles
The Orioles had few answers for Cole.
The Yankees ace allowed just four hits and one earned run over six innings, walking one and striking out eight. He threw 70 of his 93 pitches for strikes and improved to 7-6 with a 3.11 ERA.
Cole was particularly aggressive early in counts, throwing a first-pitch strike to 22 of the 23 batters he faced.
His eight strikeouts also pushed Cole to 1,015 as a Yankee, moving him one ahead of Roger Clemens for 12th place on the franchise’s career strikeout list.
Yarbrough completely shut the door after Cole exited.
The left-hander retired all nine Orioles he faced over three perfect innings, striking out four and earning his third save. Baltimore did not record a hit, walk or baserunner after the sixth inning.
A brutal sweep for Baltimore
The timing of this sweep could hardly have been worse.
Baltimore entered the series attempting to remain firmly involved in the American League Wild Card race. Three losses later, the Orioles are 61-67 and riding a four-game losing streak after briefly holding sole possession of the final Wild Card spot.
Thursday’s defeat was far more straightforward than Wednesday’s controversial loss, when Alonso appeared to hit a potentially crucial home run that was ruled foul.
There was no such turning point Thursday.
New York controlled the game after Baltimore’s third-inning defensive mistake, Cole dominated the Orioles lineup and the Yankees answered immediately after Beavers briefly brought Baltimore within two runs.
The larger concern is an Orioles offense that scored just five runs during the entire three-game series.
Baltimore scored one run Tuesday, three Wednesday and one Thursday. The Yankees outscored the Orioles 14-5 during the sweep.
For a team trying to stay alive in August, that kind of offensive production simply is not enough.
MSB Take
This was a miserable series for the Orioles.
Wednesday night will understandably be remembered for the controversial Alonso foul-ball ruling, but Baltimore cannot blame Thursday’s loss on an umpire or replay review. The Yankees were simply better in every important area.
Cole dominated Baltimore’s lineup. The Orioles made a costly defensive mistake. New York turned that mistake into runs, then answered immediately when Beavers finally gave Camden Yards something to cheer about.
The most concerning part is the timing.
Baltimore had worked its way back into the Wild Card conversation and had an opportunity to make a statement against one of the teams it may eventually have to chase. Instead, the Orioles were swept at home and have now lost four straight games.
There is still baseball left to play, but these are the games Baltimore cannot afford to continue giving away.
Up next
The Orioles remain at Camden Yards and open a series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.
Trevor Rogers, who enters the game 8-8, is scheduled to start for Baltimore. The Rays entered Friday leading the American League East at 76-51, while the Yankees improved to 72-55 and moved within four games of Tampa Bay.
Baltimore needs to stop the slide quickly.
After being swept by New York, a strong response against the division-leading Rays has become even more important.
