The Yankees had a 3-0 lead and Gerrit Cole on the mound in the 5th inning on a Hot night in the middle of a heat wave in Baltimore. But the red-hot Orioles came back, wilting the Yankee lead and then taking the lead themselves in the 7th, before opening it up in the 9th to win going away 6-3.
The Yanks seemed to be in total control of the game early, with many runners on base and numerous chances to increase their lead, but left numerous men on base.
“It was just tough conditions early. It was just so hot. It was tough to get a grip. Tough to regulate your heart rate,” said Gerrit Cole afterwards about the Heat. “Probably not just for me, probably for everybody else. Luckily it’s the American League, you can find opportunities in the 4th, 5th, and 6th to get the pitch count down without getting the double switch.”
“It was a fun grind,” added Cole. “I’m a little exhausted, but it was a fun back-and-forth battle.”
NY falls to 65-31, and have now lost 3 of 4 after the All Star break. They maintain a 12 game lead over 2nd place Tampa, 12.5 over Toronto, 16.5 over Boston, and 17 over the Orioles, who get back to .500 at 47-47.
1. Yanks Jumped Out to Lead
The Yanks JUMPED on top in the top of the 1st — a leadoff infield single by DJ LeMahieu off Jordan Lyles, and an Aaron Judge bullet double down the 3rd base line and it was 1-0 NY.
On the board quickly thanks to The Judge 👨⚖️ pic.twitter.com/DyYg6xcpcx
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 23, 2022
2. Another Carpenter Homer
Matt Carpenter made it 2-0 with a homer to right leading off the top of the 2nd.
Matty 🧊 pic.twitter.com/CAgBPFX9Ck
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 23, 2022
3. Yanks Pressure Lyles, But He Escapes
The Yanks pressured Lyles throughout the first 5 innings — they got 3 runs but could’ve had a lot more.
In the top of the 3rd, Aaron Judge led off with another double on a bloop to center, and after two fly outs, stole 3rd base. Lyles walked Josh Donaldson and Matt Carpenter to load the bases, but got Aaron Hicks to fly out to left.
In the 4th, Judge singled in a run with 1 out after singles by Isiah Kiner-Falefa and DJ LeMahieu.
Another RBI for No. 99 👊 pic.twitter.com/LUDZe7Gv1U
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 24, 2022
But with 1st and 2nd, 1 out, consecutive fly outs ended the inning.
In the 7th, Anthony Rizzo led off with a double and Gleyber Torres walked — putting 1st and 2nd nobody out — but Josh Donaldson grounded into a double play.
The Yanks outhit the Orioles on the evening 11-10, but as manager Aaron Boone has said, baseball is not a hitting contest, it is a scoring contest. The Yanks left 11 men on base to the Orioles’ 6.
4. Cole Dominant — But Orioles & Heat Got to Him
Cole was pitching a shutout into the 5th on the Hot, Humid night with temperatures in the upper 80’s after a 98-degree day. He got the first 2 outs of the 5th but then a single by former Yankee — and newfound Yankee killer — Jorge Mateo started an Orioles rally.
Mateo stole 2nd and scored on a bloop single to center by Cedric Mullins that just dropped in. Adley Rutschman then ripped a double to score Mullins and it was 3-2. Cole got mad and struck out Trey Mancini on 3 pitches but the damage was done.
Cole pitched into the bottom of the 7th — entering the inning at 102 pitches. He was defending the 3-2 lead that should have been a lot larger if the Yanks had not left so many on base.
Ramon Urias led off with a double and Yankee killer Jorge Mateo singled him in for a 3-3 tie.
Gerrit Cole then tried to pick the speedy Mateo off 1st but threw it away and Mateo sprinted to 3rd. Cole was Yanked at 112 pitches in favor of Albert Abreu, who allowed a sac fly to center by Cedric Mullins — Aaron Judge’s throw home just off line — and it was 4-3 Baltimore.
“I wasn’t sure how much I had left in there, but I just had to give the boys everything I had tonite,” said Cole. “A little unfortunate that they just found some holes. That’s their game. They don’t swing and miss a whole lot. They’re really tough to strike out. They’re shifty in terms of their aggressiveness. They put the ball in play.”
5. The Other Greene Is Back
Former Yankee Shane Greene — who was signed by the Yankees in May and has been pitching in AAA — came in to pitch the 8th. Greene was traded to Detroit in a 3-team trade in 2014 that netted the Yankees Didi Gregorius.
Greene pitched 5 seasons for Detroit — 3 of them with ERA’s over 5.00 but did have great years in 2017 and in 2019 when Detroit traded him to Atlanta.
Greene pitched from 2019 to 2021 in Atlanta — a good year in 2020, a terrible year in 2021 when they released him. The Dodgers picked him up in 2021 then released him, before the Yanks gave him a try this year. The 6’4 righthander is 33 now.
Greene retired the first 2 batters before walking Joey Odor and allowing a homerun to Ramon Urias for a 6-3 game.
6. Yankee 9th Inning Comeback Attempt Fails
The Yanks got their first two batters on in the 9th — DJ LeMahieu getting on on an error and Aaron Judge singling. But with 1st and 2nd nobody out, and 3 power hitters coming up, Orioles ace reliever Jorge Lopez got Anthony Rizzo to groundout, Gleyber Torres to fly out, and Josh Donaldson to strikeout looking for the old ballgame.
Etcetera
- The Red Hot Aaron Judge went 4-5 and is now at 36-79-.292 (.373 OBP)
- Video highlights of the game.
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/mlb/playbyplay/_/gameId/401355637
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