About Last Night: Orioles 6, Yankees 3

About Last Night: Baltimore Orioles 6 and New York Yankees 3

by Dale Mather

July 6, 2023

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About Last Night:

The game definitely started off slowly as neither team scored until the 5th inning. Add in a lengthy 17-minute delay, because of a bad throw by Gunner Henderson that hit the camera man Pete Stendel, and it crawled.

Josh Donaldson finally got the game's first run on the board with a solo blast in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kyle Higashioka added a run scoring single, after the delay, to Increase the lead to two runs. Higgy was thrown out at second trying to get an extra bag.

For the Yankees, Randy Vasquez pitched very well in a spot start, but as soon as he was pulled, the flood gates opened and the Orioles exploded for a 4 run answer in the top of the 6th inning.

Anthony Volpe cut the lead in half in the 8th with a solo shot off of Yennier Cano, only to watch Ian Hamilton give up a 2-run shot to Ryan O'Hearn in the top half of the 9th to increase the Orioles lead to three runs.

In the end, the Yankees' bullpen could not match the efforts of Randy Vasquez, and the Yankees are left with having to win today to avoid the split.

Quick Stats:

Nick Ramirez took the loss

Michael King recorded his 3rd blown save of the year.

HR - J Donaldson, A Volpe

RBI - J Donaldson (14), A Volpe (31), K Higashioka (21)

The Big Story:

The big story was the starting pitching today. Both Randy Vasquez and Dean Kremer pitched into the 5th inning in a 0-0 tie. The Yankees did finally touch up Kremer for a couple in the 6th, but he stayed in the game until the 7th as his pitch count was still great. Vasquez did have base runners in each inning giving up 3 hits and 3 walks in just 5 innings, but he found his way out of trouble every time. You have to wonder what the score might have been had Boone ran him out there till he closer to 100 pitches. Either way, the Yankees are hanging in there without some of their starting pitching and without last year's MVP Aaron Judge. They are also getting a really good look and what they have in Vasquez and Brito. With Rodon and Cortez coming back very soon, the Yankees will have some big decisions to make

Player of the Game:

The Baltimore Orioles pitchers kept the Yankees off balance and off the bases all evening. Yankees players Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres could be heard voicing their frustrations throughout the game. In a game where the pitching staff from Orioles struck out 12 Yankees batters while scattering only 6 hits, I'll give them today's game ball.

Notable Performances:

Josh Donaldson had 2 of the 6 hits cranking his 9th home run of the season, and giving the Yankees the 1-0 lead.

Anthony Volpe added a solo shot off the dangerous Cano to keep his sudden surge going

Better to Forget:

Cameraman Pete Stendel getting hit by a bad throw from Gunnar Henderson and having to leave on a cart. After a 17 minute delay, as he left the field Pete left on the cart, extending his two fingers to reveal the peace sign to the delight of the crowd. That was a major boss move!

My Take:

The Yankees had a chance to take this game and decrease the Baltimore Orioles' lead over them in the American League East to one game. With all of the injuries and missed time this year, the Yankees are holding on to a playoff spot. If the Yankees get Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, and Aaron Judge back, they may just have enough to catch the Rays.

Next Up:

The New York Yankees will finish the four game set today with the Orioles at 7:05. Luis Severino 1-3 (6.30 ERA) will face Kyle Bradish 4-4 (3.58 ERA).