Carlos Carrasco allowed four second-inning runs, and that was enough for the Orioles to hold off the Yankees, 5-4, on Wednesday night in Baltimore.
Here are the takeaways....
-The Yankees got out to an early lead once again, thanks to the longball. Aaron Judge took Cade Povich deep on a hanging sweeper, launching it 426 feet into deep center field. Judge extended his on-base streak to 27 games.
He would drive in another run with an RBI single in the seventh to cut the Orioles' lead to 5-4. Judge finished 3-for-3 with a walk.
-Paul Goldschmidt would get in on the home run barrage in Baltimore, launching his second long ball -- a solo shot -- of the season in the fifth. It was the first baseman's first homer since March 29.
Unfortunately, the Yankees' lineup just couldn't get traffic on the bases or come through when they needed to. Their best chance came in the sixth with runners at the corners with one out. Pablo Reyes and Jasson Dominguez struck out to end the threat.
-Carrasco was tasked with keeping the Orioles' hitters down with an early lead, but just couldn't. Ryan Mountcastle turned on a slider that had too much plate that tied the game at 2-2 in the second. Two batters later, Ramon Urias took Carrasco deep to give the Orioles the lead. Carrasco would allow another run in the second after two-out hits from Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman.
Carrasco would settle down, but in the fourth, he could only get one out. Tim Hill came in to get the final two outs of the inning.
Carrasco pitched just 3.1 innings (66 pitches/40 strikes), allowing four runs on eight hits, no walks, while striking out five.
-The Yankees' bullpen did their job, keeping the game close. Hill allowed a run -- aided by an Anthony Volpe error -- in his one inning of work, while Fernando Cruz continued to dominate, striking out four in his 1.2 innings.
Devin Williams made his second appearance since losing his closer's role. After getting the Orioles in order on Monday, Williams allowed a walk but got through his one inning of work unscathed. Mark Leiter Jr. worked in and out of trouble in the eighth to give the Yankees one last shot in the ninth, down 5-4.
However, the Yankees would go down in order to closer Felix Bautista, not allowing Judge to get one final at-bat.
-In the fourth, Heston Kjerstad stole second base but Austin Wells' throw was high. Reyes jumped and batted the ball down but landed on Kjerstad's head. Kjerstad took offense to Reyes and started jawing, causing both benches to clear. Cooler heads would prevail, but it harkens back to last season when Kjerstad was hit in the head with a pitch that caused the benches to clear.
-Dominguez started, hitting right-handed against the southpaw. He had some bad luck in his first at-bat, lining a ball into left field that Ramon Laureano caught diving to rob Dominguez of a hit (xBA .530). In his second at-bat, he smoked a pitch 103.9 mph off the bat but right at the third baseman for a forceout. His third and fourth at-bats resulted in strikeouts, and he finished the night 0-for-4.
-With Jazz Chisholm Jr. out of the lineup with his "flank" sprain, manager Aaron Boone switched up his lineup, having Reyes start at second and Oswald Peraza at third. Ben Rice hit leanup against the left-hander Povich and Volpe was moved up to the No. 5 hole.
Reyes finished 0-for-2 with a walk, while Peraza went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run. Volpe went 1-for-3 with a walk, while Rice went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Game MVP: Orioles bullpen
Baltimore used six pitchers to get the final 13 outs, allowing just one run.
Highlights
What's next
After an off day on Thursday, the Yankees return home to host the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
Max Fried (5-0, 1.19 ERA) will take the mound while the Rays have yet to name a starter.
