About Last Night: Orioles 5, Yankees 3

by Derek McAdam

September 25, 2024

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The New York Yankees were defeated by the Baltimore Orioles last night by a score of 5-3. With the win, the Orioles have clinched a playoff berth. Here’s a quick recap of last night’s game.

Quick Stats:

W: Dean Kremer (8-10): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

L: Clarke Schmidt (5-5): 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

S: Seranthony Dominguez (11)

NYY HR- Aaron Judge (56)

The Game Story:

The Yankees came into last night’s game looking for a win to clinch the AL East. Meanwhile, the Orioles were searching for a win to clinch a post-season berth and keep their AL East title chances alive.

In the 2nd inning, after Jordan Westburg singled and Ryan O’Hearn doubled down the right-field line, Heston Kjerstad grounded out to Gleyber Torres, scoring a run and giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead.

In the 4th, with Anthony Santander on second base, O’Hearn hit an RBI single to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead. However, in the bottom of the inning, Aaron Judge hit a solo home run, his 56th of the season, to cut the Orioles’ lead in half at 2-1.

Santander would hit a solo home run off Schmidt in the top of the 6th, giving the Orioles a 3-1 lead and knocking Schmidt out of the game. In the following inning Ramon Urias hit a solo home run, his 11th of the season, off Tim Mayza to extend the Orioles’ lead to 4-1.

However, in the bottom of the inning, the Yankees gave themselves an opportunity to take the lead. With runners on the corners and two outs, Gleyber Torres sent an RBI double into the right field seats to score a run and bring the new score to 4-2. Juan Soto then hit an RBI single to score Alex Verdugo, but Torres got caught in a rundown between third base and home plate and was tagged out. However, the Yankees were able to make the new score 4-3, although runners were stranded.

But the one-run deficit would quickly be erased in the 8th, when Colton Cowser launched a solo home run off Ian Hamilton into the right field bleachers to give the Orioles a two-run lead, again.

In the 9th, the Yankees brought the tying run to the plate, represented by pinch-hitter Jasson Dominguez. After Dominguez grounded out, it was up to Verdugo to keep the game going. However, he flew out to left field to end the game.

Player(s) of the Game:

It is tough to give this to one specific player, so I’ll choose one player from each team. For the Orioles, Kremer continued to pitch well against the Yankees, even though he only went five innings. For the Yankees, Torres delivered on offense yet again, although I’ll discuss his base-running mistake shortly.

Notable Performances:

Santander and Judge each had notable plate appearances. Santander’s solo home run was his 100th RBI of the season, while Judge’s home run extended his MLB-leading tally over Shohei Ohtani.

Better to Forget:

Of the five strikeouts the Yankees had last night, Giancarlo Stanton accounted for four of those. He came close to a home run in the 6th, but struck out on a slider in the left-handed batter’s box.

My Take:

There is going to be a lot of pressure riding on the Yankees this week. The first task is to clinch the AL East title, but that is not the only thing at risk. The Yankees also want to keep winning games so they can clinch home-field advantage through the ALCS. However, last night was not their night to clinch the AL East, but there are still several chances to do so.

There were four home runs combined between the two teams last night, but the ball was flying last night at Yankee Stadium. Cedric Mullins had a couple of balls that reached the warning track, while Judge just missed his 57th home run and Torres also gave one a ride before it landed just shy of the wall.

The bottom of the 7th seemed to be a point in the game where things started to turn around for the Yankees. At this point, the only offense that was generated was Judge’s solo home run, but they had a rally brewing. But Torres getting caught in a run down really stuck with me for some reason. Not that I would have wanted to see it, but it would have been better if he was thrown out at the plate than getting thrown out at third base. However, the throw from Santander in right field was off-line, so there is no way to know what may have happened at the plate.

The only thing that is certain is it cost the Yankees their rally. Sure, the Orioles would have walked Judge to load the bases, but what is Austin Wells came through with a hit? We will never know, and there is no point in speculating.

Overall, it was not great to give the Orioles the win that would clinch their post-season berth, but they would have clinched regardless because of the Minnesota Twins’ loss. Regardless of how poorly they have played lately, the Orioles are not a team I want the Yankees to face in the playoffs. However, it may happen at some point. Hopefully the Yankees can close it out tonight and clinch the AL East title.

What’s Next?:

The Yankees will be right back in action tonight against the Orioles. Zach Eflin is scheduled to start for the Orioles while Nestor Cortes Jr. is scheduled to go for the Yankees. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m EST.