To Birdland, the Yankees carry many monikers that show their disdain towards the team from the Bronx. Of course, the most fitting term, especially when it came to this series, continues to be the “Evil Empire.”
The Birds traveled to New York to face the Yankees in a pivotal four-game AL East showdown. At a time when the Orioles were struggling, they would need to be on their game in order to take down their division rivals in their house.
The Orioles, with a spark from the “Young Guns,” would split the series, winning the last two games with strong statements. After four games, the Orioles will head to Minnesota with their hold on second place, as the Birds would keep the Yankees at four games back.
There were two players making their big league debuts for the Orioles in this series, those being right-hander Chris Vallimont and top prospect outfielder Colton Cowser.
Let’s recap how the series unfolded from the Bronx.
GAME 1: O’s 3, NYY 6
With Tyler Wells on the mound, the Orioles knew what to expect from their starter; six plus innings of work, maybe a couple runs and a position to win.
Wells would give the Orioles just that as the Birds raced out to an early 3-0 lead. Wells would give the Birds six innings of work. He did allow two home runs, both solo shots, but would leave with a 3-2 lead.
Baltimore had it set for their bullpen to take over and lead the team to victory. Unfortunately, there are nine innings in a game, and the Yankees will play until the final out.
Mike Baumann (H, 6), Yennier Canó (1-1 BS, 3) and Danny Coulombe would combine to pitch 1.1 innings, allowing five hits and four earned runs to hand the game to the Yankees for the victory.
On offense, every starter, sans Jorge Mateo, would collect at least one hit, with Ryan O’Hearn (2-for-4), Anthony Santander (2-for-4) and Adley Rutschman (3-for-5) collecting multiple hits. Rutschman, O’Hearn and Cedric Mullins would all collect an RBI each.
The offense struck out 11 times but did collect 12 hits in the 6-3 loss.
GAME 2: O’s 4, NYY 8
Game one was a tough loss, but game two was the epitome of how the Orioles’ recent run of games have gone.
Kyle Gibson took the mound and would give his normal six innings, allowing just three hits. However, he would walk four and hit a batter. This would lead to four runs over Gibson’s outing.
With the Yankees out to an early 3-0 lead, the O’s would get a solo home run from Aaron Hicks and a two-run shot from Adam Frazier to tie the game. New life and a new game, the Birds weren’t out of it yet.
Then the bottom of the fifth inning came, and the climax of the game would arrive in a bit of a shocking fashion. With a runner on first moving on the pitch, Giancarlo Stanton sent a single into left-center field.
Cedric Mullins would move to field the ball, appeared to jog and then nonchalantly tossed the ball into second base where it was dropped. Gleyber Torres would race around and score the go-ahead and eventual winning run, giving the Yankees a 4-3 lead.
From there, the bullpen, Nick Vespi, Bryan Baker and Bruce Zimmermann, would finish the final two innings. They would allow four runs, three earned, as the Yankees extended their lead and eventually won the game 8-4.
Amongst the Hicks and Frazier home runs, Jordan Westburg would lead the way with his third multi-hit game.
GAME 3: O’s 6, NYY 3
The Orioles’ No. 2 overall prospect Colton Cowser was added to the active roster and made his major league debut in game three. Being a fan of Star Wars, making his debut against the “Evil Empire” was fitting.
It started with Dean Kremer (9-4), who would set a new career-high with 10 strikeouts, going seven innings and allowing just two runs (one earned).
Kremer held the Yankee lineup to four hits, walking just one batter. He threw 103 pitches (67 strikes), executing his arsenal with control.
With the Orioles trailing 2-0, the rookie Cowser would lace a single that would score the O’s first run, kick starting a four-run rally. Cowser came around to score on Jordan Westburg’s first big league triple the following at-bat.
Of course, the Orioles’ two All-Star relievers would take over for Kremer, and that was all she wrote. Yennier Canó (H, 19) allowed his first home run in 154 batters but was able to keep it there. Félix Bautista (SV, 23) would pitch the final 1.1 innings to close it out.
Mullins and Rutschman collected two hits, while O’Hearn and Westburg would drive in two runs each. Five Orioles reached base two times, as the Birds picked up win No. 50 on the season.
GAME 4: O’s 14, NYY 1
If game three was a Colton Cowser coming-out party, game four belonged to Gunnar Henderson.
The O’s 22-year-old star would open the night with a lead-off home run to start the game. Little did the Orioles know that would be all they needed.
Kyle Bradish entered on a roll, having pitched six plus innings in three of his last four starts and not allowing more than two runs in four straight. Bradish kept his hot streak alive in this one.
The O’s right-hander would pitch six innings of three-hit, no-run ball, as he would keep the Yankees from mounting any offense. He struck out five and walked two.
Henderson continued his destruction, as he would hit a three-run homer and collect two singles. He would finish 4-for-7, scoring three runs and driving in five.
Every Oriole starter reached base at least twice, and Jorge Mateo and James McCann reached once after coming in late. The Orioles put 30 runners on base and tallied 20 total hits, eight walks and two hit batters, scoring 14 runs.
Henderson, O’Hearn (4) and Mullins (2) all had multiple RBIs, as the Orioles would come out on top, 14-1. They improve to 51-35 and finish 4-3 at Yankee Stadium this season.
BATTERY ❌-FACTOR
The Oriole offense had been struggling as of late, mainly the top of the lineup. As a whole, the offense needed to produce and take advantage of opportunities in this series.
The Orioles collected 10 hits in game one, eight in game two, 12 in game three and 20 in game four. They also scored at least three runs in every game.
Key players Anthony Santander, Adley Rutschman, Cedric Mullins and Ryan O’Hearn needed to step up big time. For the series, these players provided just enough to help split the series.
- Anthony Santander: 5-for-14 (.357), 3 BB, 0 K
- Adley Rutschman: 7-for-18 (.389), 4 R, 2 RBIs, 2 BB, 4 K
- Cedric Mullins: 4-for-16 (.250), 2 R, 3 RBIs, 3 BB, 3 K
- Ryan O’Hearn: 7-for-16 (.438), 3 R, HR, 7 RBIs, 2 BB, 4 K, SB
Mullins started to click in game three, as he collected two doubles and a walk and seemed to be rounding a corner as he returned from his IL stint. As for the other three, their contributions were big, especially in the last two games in which the Orioles won.
The Birds will head to Minnesota to close out the first half of the 2023 season with a three-game set. They will be looking to avenge last week’s series loss in Baltimore.
Will the Orioles roll into the All-Star Break on a roll, or will the Twins look to play spoiler and increase their division lead? It all starts Friday at 8:10 p.m. EST in Minnesota.
What are your thoughts on this series split? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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