It took the Baltimore Orioles several innings on Wednesday to shake off their disappointment from the night before, when Felix Bautista’s hanging splitter resulted in a tying homer to Aaron Judge and an eventual defeat to the New York Yankees.
The Orioles displayed their resilience by storming back with an eight-run seventh inning to overcome a 5-1 deficit on Wednesday to beat the Yankees 9-6. Now they can win the three-game series if they can take the finale on Thursday night in New York.
Baltimore is attempting to even the season series at three games apiece after pulling off its 19th comeback win of the season.
Adam Frazier, who has reached safety in 17 straight games, sparked the seventh-inning rally with a three-run homer off Nestor Cortes. Gunnar Henderson followed with a two-run, pinch-hit double off Jimmy Cordero to give the Orioles the lead.
“We’re never out. Don’t count us out, and we’ll battle back,” Henderson said. “There’s no quit in this team.
Frazier added: “I told the guys after the game, we’re never out of it. One through nine, everybody can impact the game in a positive way at any moment.”
Baltimore notched its biggest inning since a nine-run frame against the Kansas City Royals on Sept. 8, 2021. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles also matched their biggest inning against the Yankees in New York.
The Orioles enter Thursday with 10 wins in their past 14 games since dropping three straight from May 6-8.
New York’s bullpen allowed one hit over the final five innings on Tuesday, allowing the offense to chip away and eventually win 6-5 in 10 innings. The Yankees’ relievers entered Wednesday with a 2.80 ERA, the lowest in the majors, and a 22 1/3-inning scoreless streak. The team hoped to get the win while not using Michael King, Wandy Peralta and Ron Marinaccio.
“We were just short back there and trying to finish it in a leverage spot with Cordero and Clay (Holmes),” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
New York got two homers from Gleyber Torres and one from Isiah Kiner-Falefa but saw its season-high, five-game winning streak end. Still, the Yankees have 15 victories in their past 21 games.
“Just unlucky there, but it happened quick,” Cortes said.
Kyle Gibson (5-3, 4.27 ERA) will start on Thursday for the Orioles. The right-hander is 1-3 with a 4.74 ERA in four starts this month. Gibson stopped a personal three-start losing streak on Friday in Toronto when he allowed one run on five hits in seven innings, equaling his longest start of his career.
Gibson is 1-6 with a 6.75 ERA in 10 career starts against the Yankees. He last faced them in July 2019 in Minnesota when he took a no-decision after allowing five runs on seven hits in five innings during New York’s wild 14-12, 10-inning win.
Clarke Schmidt (2-4, 6.00 ERA) will take the mound for the Yankees. He has allowed two runs or fewer in three of his past four starts. Schmidt bounced back from yielding seven runs at home to the Tampa Bay Rays on May 14 to give up just two runs on five hits in five-plus innings during a 6-2 win at Cincinnati on Friday.
Schmidt is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in six career appearances, five in relief, against the Orioles. His one start against them came on April 7 in Baltimore. The right-hander allowed four runs on five hits and three walks in 3 1/3 innings during a no-decision.
–Field Level Media
