BALTIMORE — The Orioles didn’t need a big hit for Friday night’s big win.
Three walks from the New York Yankees’ bullpen in the 11th inning covered up Baltimore’s weeklong struggles with runners in scoring position, with Ramón Urías’ bases-loaded walk against Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman bringing an end to a game in which the Orioles went 1 for 15 with a runner on either second or third.
The Orioles (2-5) went hitless in two at-bats with scoring chances in the second, third and fifth innings. Austin Hays quickly gave them with a leadoff double in the seventh, taking third on a passed ball before Jorge Mateo dropped a single into left, though he was thrown out at second trying to become a runner in scoring position himself. A pair of walks followed, but Cedric Mullins and Urías both struck out to end the threat.
Against former Orioles reliever Miguel Castro, the Orioles worked another two walks, but Castro struck out Mateo to strand them as well, leaving Baltimore 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position in the contest and 6 for 65 with 33 strikeouts in those situations this season. With a runner automatically placed at second base in extra innings, five more hitless at-bats followed before Urías saw four straight balls from Chapman after falling behind 0-2. Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected after the game for arguing balls and strikes.
Behind starter Jordan Lyles, Orioles relievers Dillon Tate, Jorge López, Bryan Baker, Cionel Pérez and Joey Krehbiel recorded 17 straight outs, carrying the game from the sixth to the 11th.
Length from Lyles
In the wake of John Means’ left elbow strain that could see the Orioles’ top starter spend significant time on the injured list, Lyles shoulders all of the veteran status in Baltimore’s rotation.
“Jordan’s been in the big leagues for 10 years, and so I give him a little more rope on how he’s feeling,” manager Brandon Hyde said before the game. “I’m not going to even discuss I need him to go further because Meansy’s going to be out for a while. That’s not going to come up.”
Lyles clearly didn’t need to be told that he’ll be relied on heavily going forward. The only Orioles starter to complete five innings thus far, Lyles worked into the sixth Friday, limiting the Yankees (4-4) to one run. He held New York to one hit in six at-bats with a runner in scoring position, the exception being a broken-bat blooper from slugger Giancarlo Stanton in the third.
The final four of Lyles’ 91 pitches were balls to Gleyber Torres, loading the bases with one out in the sixth. But Tate, a former Yankees farmhand acquired in July 2018 for closer Zack Britton, got Aaron Hicks to ground into a double play and salvage Lyles’ line.
It marked only the fifth time during Hyde’s four-season managerial tenure that an Orioles starter pitched more than five innings against the Yankees without allowing a home run.
Around the horn
— All uniformed members of both teams wore a blue No. 42 on Friday in honor of the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier. “It means everything,” said Mullins, one of two African American players on the Orioles’ active roster along with Tate. “We’re talking about someone who sacrificed a lot to create opportunities that he might not have even thought were possible back in his day. To be able to wear his number out there on the field in honor of him is awesome.”
— José Hernández and Fredi González again coached first and third base, respectively, because base coaches Anthony Sanders and Tony Mansolino remained out with an illness that the Orioles, citing team policy, refuse to specify. As a result, the Orioles have temporarily added three player development staffers to their major league staff: Florida Complex League manager Christian Frias, coordinator of instruction Jeff Kunkel and manager of pitching strategy Ryan Klimek.
