Baltimore Orioles Are Terrible But Win Game 1 Of Series Against New York Yankees

The Baltimore Orioles are struggling and this series is a golden opportunity for the Yankees to bury them a bit more in the American League East. Will Warren got the start for the Yankees. He has been up and down this season. This was a down game for him. The Yankees lost 4-3.

Orioles Starting Pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano had only 9 strikeouts coming into this game and had given up 6 home runs. In this game, he struck out 8 and allowed no runs. How many games do you think New York will win in Baltimore?

Lineups

The Baltimore Orioles had Cedric Mullins batting first and playing center field. Gunnar Henderson was the shortstop and batted second. Adley Rutschman batted third and was the catcher. Ryan O’Hearn was the designated hitter and was batting fourth. Ryan Mountcastle was the first baseman and batted fifth. Heston Kjerstad was the right fielder and batted sixth. Ramón Urías was the third baseman and batted seventh. He was the only batter in the Oriole lineup batting OVER .300. Jackson Holliday was the second baseman and batted eighth. Ramón Laureano was the left fielder and batted ninth. 

For the Yankees, Trent Grisham led off and was the center fielder. Aaron Judge batted second and played right field. Cody Bellinger was the left fielder batting third. Paul Goldschmidt was the first baseman batting fourth. Jazz Chisholm Jr. batted fifth and was the second baseman. Anthony Volpe batted sixth and was the shortstop. Austin Wells batted seventh and was the catcher. Jasson Dominguez played left field and batted eighth. Oswald Peraza was the third baseman and batted ninth. Orlando Cabrara pinch-hit for him in the seventh inning.

Scoring Summary: Yanks Defeat Orioles In Game 1

In the second inning, Laureano doubled and Holiday scored. That gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead. In the third inning,  O’Hearn hit a three-run home run. Henderson and Ruschman scored. The Orioles took a 4-0 lead. In the seventh inning, Judge hit into a fielder’s choice. So, the Yankees finally scored a run on an out. That cut the Orioles lead to 4-1.

In the eighth inning, Volpe doubled, and Goldschmidt scored. That cut the Orioles lead to 4-2 and brought the tying run up. Also in that inning, Wells doubled, and Volpe scored. That cut the Orioles to 4-3.

Game Notes

The weather was warmer in Baltimore than in New York. At game time it was 74 degrees Fahrenheit, and it was partly cloudy at the start of the game. 

New York’s starting rotation has been much better as of late. If one breaks the season thus far in half, they can see that. They had a 5.40 earned run average over the first 15 games. The Yankees’ starting rotation has had a 2.62 earned run average in the last 13 games. They are 9-4 over that time.

There is no doubt the starting pitching resurge the Yankees have had of late has to do with the bottom of the rotation, the Carlos Carrasco’s and Will Warren’s. The Yankees starting pitching rotation has also been aided of late by the fact Marcus Stroman is not in it. He was brutal before he went on the injured list. Warren benefitted tonight from great run support.

The eight strikeouts the Yankees had against the Baltimore starter Sugano were all on his split-finger fastball and nearly matched his season total. Chisholm Jr. was 0-of-3 with 3 strikeouts.

The Baltimore Orioles Have Been Disappointing

The Baltimore Orioles were expected to compete in the American League East, especially given the Yankees injuries. Many people favored Baltimore to win the division after Gerrit Cole was injured. The Orioles are in last place in the division, despite their talent level. They are 11-17. With the division being as competitive as it is, Baltimore better watch out, or they could be out of the division race by Memorial Day. Their young players are struggling, and Baltimore has been beset by some key players.

Conclusion

The Yankees will not sweep this series from the Baltimore Orioles, even though they should. The Orioles are struggling and in last place in the American League East. The Yankees swung and missed at almost everything. There are still two more games in Baltimore on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 6:35 pm both nights. It is a little strange that Baltimore decides to start its home games at that hour, but it is a better time for people who need to cover the game.