Yanks Snatch Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory, Orioles Win 3-2

By Andy Singer

May 11th, 2026

Tonight's game was as frustrating a game as I've seen all season. The Yankees have now lost 4 straight games - a sweep at the hands of the Brewers, and a bad loss this evening against the Orioles. When you lose fair and square because the other team is better, that's one thing. It's not a good feeling, but it happens. When you lose the way the Yankees lost tonight's game, you feel anger and emptiness as a fan. I can only imagine how I'd feel as a Yankee in that clubhouse after tonight's game.

Those of you who have read this site for a long time understand the format in which I generally write. It's a bit more structured and analytically based. Tonight, I'm shooting from the hip because this game really ticked me off. Let's get to it:

• There was so much good to begin this game. Ben Rice drove in the only runs the Yankees scored on a beautiful piece of hitting in the 3rd inning. With Trent Grisham on-base, Rice took a 2-seam fastball up and away to the left-center alley just over the fence to give the Yankees the 2-0 lead. This was exciting for a number of reasons. For one, my daughter, who is 3 going on 40, loves Ben Rice and made a point of running around the house to tell her parents and grandparents that Ben Rice homered. Secondly, Rice looked far enough off against the Brewers that I worried Rice's bruised hand was a bigger problem than he'd let on. With a single in the first inning and a great homer in the 3rd, Rice showed me he was healthy enough to play. Statcast says that the homer barely eclipsed 100 MPH and that the shot would have been a homer in just 2 other ballparks besides Camden Yards, but somehow, it felt like a much better hit than that.

  • There is very little that's more wholesome than watching Ben Rice's good friend, Spencer Jones, celebrating so genuinely on the top step of the dugout. We all need friends who cheer us on in that way.

• Likewise, Ryan Weathers was truly outstanding tonight. He was so good, I think that the Yankees need to re-think the relative merits of keeping one of Warren or Weathers as the 5th starter when Gerrit Cole returns. Weathers proved that he is capable of really pitching tonight, and also that he doesn't need top-of-the-scale velocity to survive as a starter. His fastball velocity was down by 1-2 MPH for much of the night, yet Weathers worked very effectively. This version of Weathers is the one I envisioned when I wrote about him this offseason. Weathers really mixed and matched his sinker and 4-seam fastball effectively to keep hitters honest.

• Ryan Weathers did not allow a hit until the 7th inning tonight. He was truly outstanding, and his change-up was so clearly his best pitch. Hitters swung at the change-up 16 times; they whiffed on 9 (!) of those swings, good for a 56% whiff rate. That is as unhittable as you'll find a single pitch at the MLB level. Weathers tunneled that pitch so effectively tonight, matching arm slot and arm speed to the fastball as impressively as a pitcher is capable. He got a 40% whiff rate on the sweeper as well, but he only forced 5 swings on the pitch. It was clear that the sweeper wasn't working as well tonight, but Austin Wells kept calling for it. It was infuriating to watch. Sure, Weathers threw 6 no-hit innings prior to the first hit in the 7th, but Weathers was forced into numerous longer counts as Wells insisted on defaulting to the sweeper in a variety of strange situations. Weathers was fantastic; the game plan behind the plate was curious on Wells' part. More so if you consider that Wells really isn't providing much beyond a strong presence defensively behind the plate.

• I genuinely believe that Weathers had enough stuff and command to throw a no-hitter tonight. Wells' game calling hurt, which was infuriating. Even more infuriating? Michael Kay began the bottom of the 7th inning by very boastfully noting that Weathers had not yet allowed a hit. Weathers promptly allowed a lead-off single. This is not the first time that Kay has jinxed a pitcher throwing a no-hitter. It's absolutely painful for a hardcore, superstitious fan to listen to Michael Kay do this over and over again. One of these days, he'll learn to let the moment breathe, and more critically, he'll keep the baseball gods from ending Yankee no-hitters.

• Weathers' final line includes 9 strikeouts and 2 runs allowed. No, the last bit isn't fair - Aaron Boone called on Brent Headrick to face the righty hitting Coby Mayo, who promptly swatted a 3-run homer. Headrick came into the season as barely more than a second lefty specialist. Boone has overexposed Headrick in recent weeks by working him like Joe Torre did to Scott Proctor a million years ago. Headrick never should have been brought in mid-inning to face a righty with a strong platoon advantage. Weathers was truly awesome, and Boone and Headrick ruined it. Between Michael Kay and Aaron Boone, I don't know who made me angrier.

• Ben Rice is greatly improved defensively at 1B, but that doesn't mean he's good defensively yet. In the 5th inning, Rice made a great play to snag a hard liner that hit the dirt just before Rice's mitt. He stepped on first base, then hesitated before throwing to 2nd base in an attempt to get Taveras for the inning-ending double-play. It was almost as though Rice was afraid of a rundown, which caused a nearly disastrous double-clutch. It was an example of bad baseball, and in retrospect, an omen of what was yet to come.

• Spencer Jones was again hitless tonight. He got 2 ABs before giving way to Paul Goldschmidt. That's not a good sign, given that Jones is a bat-first prospect. Jones also swung through some incredibly hittable fastballs in the meat of the plate. He got 2 fastballs and a splitter near the middle-third of the plate. Jones has to do damage on pitches like that if he hopes to succeed in the Majors.

• Jazz Chisholm and Austin Wells' at-bats are totally uncompetitive right now.

• Jose Caballero ran the Yankees out of the end of the game. He nearly got picked off at 1B twice when he subbed in for Goldschmidt, then he took the bat out of the Yankees' hands in the 9th inning by getting thrown out on an awful steal attempt in the top of the 9th with 2 outs. It was spectacularly bad baserunning. Cabby has been a breath of fresh air this year, but that was Cabby at his worst. He single-handedly cost the Yankees a shot at a comeback.

• I will forever feel like the the manager, the catcher, and the Yankees' general poor play cost Ryan Weathers a start that should have been remembered for a long time.

• I haven't been this angry watching a game yet this year. I said a lot of colorful things at the TV. Most of them can't be repeated, particularly after my daughter went to bed.

• Aaron Judge laced a double to left field. He's still pretty great.

• Ryan Weathers looked as dominant as any pitcher for the Yankees has all season. He didn't deserve for this game to end this way.

• It's tough to get over, but the Yankees have another game tomorrow. They need to end this streak of poor play. I'm going to try to remember Ryan Weathers' effort on the mound...and not much else.

• Ryan Weathers was so, so good tonight...I hope he can keep it going.

This game made me so angry that I couldn't even put the recap into my standard format. The Yankees need to find a way to stop snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Games like this add up over a long season, and it's brutal for fans to witness. This one hurt; let's hope it's a bug, not a feature.