The Orioles spent another night looking up at the Yankees, and by the end of it the mood at Camden Yards was unmistakable: frustration turned inward.
Kyle Bradish never quite escaped a third inning that got messy fast, then watched the game tilt further in the sixth when the Yankees added two more home runs on the way to a 6-1 win. Gunnar Henderson scolded himself.
Bradish buried his reaction in his glove. The Orioles, who needed to avoid a sweep and keep pace in the Wild Card chase, instead slipped to 61-67 and walked into another quiet clubhouse.
Bradish finished at 100 pitches in 5 2/3 innings, allowing five total runs, three earned, and eight hits. The damage in the third was the biggest blow.
After Jones and Austin Wells opened the inning with singles, José Caballero grounded to Jackson Holliday, who moved left, spun, and threw to second trying for the force. Henderson reached for the ball and missed, letting Jones score.
The inning kept rolling from there. Trent Grisham grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, but Ben Rice followed with a single to left to bring in Wells, and Heliot Ramos doubled high off the out-of-town scoreboard. García then reached on an infield hit before Bradish finally got back to the dugout, having burned 38 pitches in the frame.
That one error mattered. Only one of the runs in the inning was earned.
The sixth brought more trouble. Luis García Jr. led off by scorching a first-pitch slider, and after Bradish got the next two outs, Spencer Jones reached the Bird Bath in left-center. Bradish’s night ended there, and left-hander Grant Wolfram took over.
The Yankees had already seen this matchup from the other side on May 13 at Camden Yards, when Bradish threw 100 pitches and Wolfram shut them out on one hit in six innings. This time, the results were flipped even though the pitch count looked familiar: 100 pitches, 60 strikes, but a much rougher line for Bradish.
Dylan Beavers provided the Orioles’ lone punch with another home run, this one to the flag court in right field in the fifth inning after Gerrit Cole had retired 11 straight. Cole was sharp throughout, throwing 22 of 23 first-pitch strikes and holding Baltimore to one run and four hits with eight strikeouts over six innings.
The Orioles did get a little help from the defense early, turning three double plays in the first five innings. It wasn’t enough to overcome the hole they dug for themselves, and the offense never found a way to answer after that Beavers homer. Baltimore has not driven in a baserunner since Monday.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. added an RBI triple off Albert Suárez in the eighth, with García scoring after diving into second and realizing the ball was in the right field corner. Ryan Yarbrough handled the rest, retiring all nine batters he faced for the save despite the Yankees being short on available relievers.
The Orioles now head into a weekend series at home against the first-place Rays, who are stumbling but still sit atop the division. Baltimore is six games below .500 for the first time since July 11 and two games back for the last Wild Card spot.
The night also carried a strange subplot from the stands and the foul line. Tower Federal Credit Union and its TowerCares Foundation have an agreement this year to donate $2,500 to “Homers for Heroes,” in partnership with The Alonso Foundation, for every home run hit by Pete Alonso. The money supports Maryland veterans and military families.
Alonso hit his 29th homer last night, and what looked like his 30th - one that would have broken a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning - was ruled foul. The Orioles challenged, and the call stood. TowerCares still chose to treat it as a homer and is donating $5,000.
“The official call was foul, but at Tower, we’re calling it a home run,” Rick Stafford, President & CEO of Tower Federal Credit Union and President of the TowerCares Foundation, said in a statement. “At the end of the day, this is about doing more for the veterans and military families who have given so much for our country. We saw an opportunity to turn a very close call into something positive, and we’re proud to make this additional contribution to the Alonso Foundation to benefit veterans and military families across Maryland.”
With the extra money, Homers for Heroes has now generated $42,500.
On the farm, No. 2 prospect Anthony Eyanson was sharp for Richmond, allowing one run and five hits in seven innings. He walked none and struck out eight, and he now has a 1.93 ERA in 14 Double-A starts.
In Other News...
Orioles Wild Card Push Now Rests On Three Unsettled Pieces
The Orioles are trying to make a late climb in a crowded American League Wild Card race, and the margin for error is getting thin with the club still four games under .500. For Baltimore, the path back into the conversation has started to look less like a broad team-wide surge and more like a few key players finding their footing at the right time, with Coby Mayo, Yennier Cano and Trevor Rogers each offering reasons for optimism.
Mayos recent power surge has given the lineup a needed jolt, Cano has settled in with effective relief work, and Rogers has looked sharper on the mound since June 1. If Baltimore is going to turn this into a real push, those are the kinds of developments that have to keep holding, because the Orioles are still waiting to see whether this stretch becomes a meaningful run or just a brief opening in a tight race. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Bullpen Picture Just Got More Interesting Around Flix Bautista
Flix Bautista was back in the Orioles clubhouse for the first time this season, a notable step for a bullpen that has been waiting all year for its closer to re-enter the picture. Bautista is still on the 60-day injured list after surgery, but the fact that he is expected to begin a rehab assignment soon gives Baltimore a clearer sense of when one of its most important late-inning arms might start moving toward a return.
Luis De Lon is part of the conversation too, with the Orioles preparing the prospect for a possible major league bullpen role as they keep sorting through their pitching depth. Between that and a batch of minor league updates plus upcoming game starters, the organization is trying to balance the immediate need for innings with the longer view of how the bullpen could look once Bautista is back in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Get Pulled Into Another Fair-Foul Mess With MLB
A replay review in the Yankees-Orioles game put the fair-foul debate back in the spotlight, this time after Pete Alonso sent a ball down the line and the original foul-ball ruling survived the challenge. For Baltimore, it was another reminder of how much these borderline calls can shape a game, especially when the broadcast angles and the leagues own replay process leave room for argument.
Chris Bassitt took issue with MLBs technology afterward, saying it still cannot conclusively settle fair-or-foul calls when the stakes are high. Alonso also raised questions about the use of Hawk-Eye in these situations, and the whole sequence left the kind of lingering uncertainty that tends to follow the Orioles from one replay controversy to the next. [Read more 🡒]