Series Recap: Yanks Split 4 With O’s at Camden Yards
Whenever the Yankees head to Baltimore, I imagine the flight or trip down being a very fun atmosphere. Typically, the Yankees stuff the stat sheet at Camden Yards. Everybody remembers Gleyber Torres’ dominance against the O’s that nearly gave Gary Thorne an aneurism in 2019. You might even remember Judge’s early days of completely owning Baltimore pitching. The shallow power alleys help sluggers get their numbers up.
This time, I almost imagine the Yankees feeling pressured on their way to Baltimore. The team’s record of 9-12 meant that a series sweep is the only outcome that would put the team over .500 leaving Maryland. Many players are hitting below their weight in the average department, and the OPS numbers are staggeringly low.
In the end, some players did their job (we see you, Giancarlo) and some fell awfully short of acceptable play (yuck, Hicks). The Yankees walk away with a split of four game, definitely not what we were hoping for. Although it is still April, the season is just beginning to slip away from a team that originally had World Series aspirations. On to the games:
Game 1 (Yankees 2, Orioles 4)
The Yankees called up Deivi Garcia to start the first game of the series with Baltimore. Oddly enough, the Orioles trotted out Matt Harvey (yes, that Matt Harvey, the Dark Knight) to face the Yanks’ lineup. Harvey got the better of the matchup, going 6 strong and only allowing 1 run. Deivi, on the other hand, was on a strict pitch count and allowed 2 runs in 4 innings (65 pitches).
The game was not great from the get-go. The Yankees hit into their millionth double play of the season to end the top of the first, then Cedric Mullins swatted the second pitch of Deivi’s first inning into the seats for a 1-0 Baltimore lead. The Orioles tacked on another run on a Freddy Galvis double in the second.
The Yankees showed some life in the 6th inning when Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge hit back-to-back doubles down the left field line (each hit over 115 mph), which cut the score to 2-1. Then, in the bottom half of the inning, the Yankees did what the Yankees have done best this season: make a costly mistake. Darren O’Day balked with a runner on third base, thereby advancing the runner home to give the Orioles a 3-1 lead.
One inning later, Cedric Mullins (who was our series preview’s “Slugger to Watch”) hit his second home run of the game, a solo shot off of lefty Justin Wilson.
Fast forward to the top of the 8th, and here is where the drama went down. Orioles’ reliever Tanner Scott walked the bases loaded and was replaced by closer Cesar Valdez with 2 outs in the inning. Gio Urshela laced a ball into left field. Clint Frazier easily scored from third base. D.J. LeMahieu rounded third and something happened right around the time LeMahieu stepped on home plate. Aaron Judge attempted to go first-to-third on the play, but was thrown out (barely) at third base. The umpires immediately called Judge out at third, but also ruled that LeMahieu did not touch home plate prior to Judge being tagged out. Managers are allotted 20 seconds to challenge a play. The Yankees were on the phone with their replay operator, but were unsure about whether to challenge the run scoring or the out call at third base. Right at the 20-second mark, the umpire ruled the play non-challengeable, so Aaron Boone went ballistic. Boone was tossed from the game as he pleaded his case, telling the umpire that he was not even looking at him. Later on in his interview, Boone likened the umpire’s actions to “bullying”. Anyways, the Yankees ended the inning trailing 4-2 and the score did not change from there.
Yankee of the Day: Gio Urshela (3): 2 for 4, RBI.
Game 2 (Yankees 5, Orioles 1)
Boy, did the Klubot need a good start under his belt. He was able to cash one in against Baltimore and earn his first win with the Yankees. He faced off against left-handed Bruce Zimmermann (certainly not a household name).
The Yankees got the first run of the game across in the top of the first. LeMahieu hit a leadoff single, moved to third on a Judge single, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Gio Urshela. Kluber only faced seven Orioles hitters through the first two innings, so the Yankees came to bat in the third frame with the 1-0 lead intact.
The third and fourth innings featured a pair of home runs by Judge and Kyle Higashioka. Gio Urshela also knocked in a run with an RBI single that included a hilarious outfield assist at home plate where Giancarlo Stanton was about by about 15 miles.
The Yankees 4-0 lead was made 4-1 in the fourth inning on a single by Maikel Franco, but that was the only run Kluber allowed. After a Giancarlo Stanton missile to center made the game 5-1, Kluber attempted to complete his seventh inning of the night.
Kluber faced four hitters in the seventh, allowing two singles and grabbing two outs. Boone went to Jonathan Loaisiga to clean up the small mess, then allowed him to pitch the eighth inning and gave the ball to Luetge to take the ninth. The Yankees coasted to a 5-1 victory.
Yankee of the Day: Corey Kluber (1): 6.2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 K, W.
Game 3 (Yankees 7, Orioles 0)
The Wednesday night game was probably the biggest outlier of the season in terms of gameplay and decision-making by the Yankees. The Bombers had 12 hits, put up 7 runs, and shut out the Orioles. The defense did not make an error. All around, it was a successful night.
To make this quick, the Yankees scored their runs on a solo homer by Mike Ford (opposite way!), a Gleyber Torres RBI single, an Urshela 3-run blast, an Aaron Hicks sacrifice fly, and a Clint Frazier dinger. All of those but Frazier’s were against Baltimore starter Dean Kremer, who had been rolling in his career starts against the Yanks. Frazier’s homer was off of reliever Tyler Wells.
The real story of the night was Germán’s ability to throw his sinker. He was dotting the outside corner to right-handed hitters. The Orioles could not square him up, and the results were there. His strikeout numbers were not superb, but that is fine when the bases are unclogged.
Mike King entered in relief and gave the Yankees exactly what they needed: two shutout innings.
One thing of note: Aaron Judge was not in the lineup for this game. Boone mentioned that he was going to give Judge one of the last two games off because of “general lower body soreness”, so there was no real reason to overreact at this point.
Yankee of the Day: Domingo Germán (1): 7 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 K, W.
Game 4 (Yankees 3, Orioles 4) (10 Innings)
When the Game 4 lineup was released, it did not include Aaron Judge. Since Boone had said prior that Judge was only going to get one day off, this was a bit of a surprise and was met with speculation about a bad injury. More on this later.
Anyways, Jordan Montgomery started for the Yankees. He clearly had command issues, but was able to limit his walks to just one. Instead, he missed wide often and left pitches over the heart of the plate when trying to compensate for lacking pinpoint accuracy. The Orioles tagged him for a run in the first on a Trey Mancini single.
It took a while for the Yankees’ offense to answer, especially considering Baltimore’s starter was Jorge López (career 6.16 ERA, season 7.48 ERA). A Gardner single and LeMahieu walk to lead off the fifth inning forced the Orioles to go to the bullpen. Right Adam Plutko gave up a single to Stanton, which loaded the bases. After getting the next two batters out, Rougned Odor stepped in. Odor came through once again for the Yankees, hitting a single to drive in Gardner and LeMahieu to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Odor currently leads the Yankees with hits giving the Yankees the lead this season (4).
A questionable decision was made to begin the sixth inning. Montgomery came back out to face Trey Mancini, and of course allowed a home run to tie the game up 2-2. Boone then pulled Monty and opted for Chad Green, who would have been a much more favorable matchup against Mancini. Green pitched two scoreless innings.
The next questionable decision occurred in the eighth inning. Boone deployed Darren O’Day in a tie game instead of Jonathan Loaisiga, who he would ultimately use later in the game. O’Day allowed a run to score on an Austin Hays double (awful effort by Hicks to get the ball to the cutoff man), giving Baltimore a 3-2 edge.
The Yankees faced Baltimore’s closer, Cesar Valdez, in the ninth inning. Valdez was a little wild, putting Ford and LeMahieu on with walks. However, his changeup was doing enough to fool Gardner and Stanton. Both hitters struck out and the Yankees were down to their final strike with Gleyber Torres at the dish. On the sixth pitch of the at bat, Torres roped a ball of the left-center field warning track, but instead of scoring two runs, the ball hopped over the wall for a ground-rule double only scoring one. Urshela then hit a line drive right at the shortstop Urías to end the inning.
Aroldis Chapman took the ninth, looking dominant as ever. He struck out the side on 18 pitches. The Yankees were unable to grab the lead, even with Urshela as the automatic runner on second. Instead, Tyler Wade struck out trying to bunt, Aaron Hicks grounded out to the pitcher, and Mike Ford struck out.
The Orioles faced Jonathan Loaisiga in their half of the tenth and walked it off on a sacrifice fly. That’s right: Loaisiga did not allow a baserunner, but was charged with a loss.
Yankee of the Day: Aroldis Chapman (2): 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K.
Series Talking Points
Mike Tauchman Trade: Read the full LBB story here.
Boone Ejection/Judge Baserunning: The ejection in Game 1 was a major talking point. The Yankees were somewhat rightfully mad, but really the challenge should have been made well prior to the 2-second mark. If the Yankees were deciding between challenging the run scoring or the play at third, they should have either picked one or bought a few extra seconds by affirmatively telling the umpires they were challenging the play. Then, there would have been a discussion and the Yankees could have made their final decision.
Aaron Judge Health: Aaron Judge is dealing with “general lower body soreness.” This is different than the upper body soreness from earlier this month. Instead, Boone said it was a little bit of everything in his legs and nothing specific. Boone attributed this to being on the road for a while. The Yankees are apparently playing “the long game” with Judge. But here is what worries me: Judge is 29-years-old. He is supposed to be the face of the franchise and possibly even the future Captain. However, how can you lock someone in to a long-term deal when you are concerned about playing him against the Orioles in the regular season? Maybe Judge is feeling fine, but the vagueness allows room for speculation.
Mike King Situation: Mike King was optioned after his relief appearance and people are upset about it. I understand it. King has pitched 11 scoreless innings this season and truthfully has earned a rotation tryout. However, he has options, so I fully expect King to ride the Scranton Shuttle all season long.
Game 4 Bullpen Usage: The bullpen usage in Game 4 was suspect. Chad Green should have been used from the beginning of the sixth inning, instead of allowing soft-throwing lefty Monty to pitch to right-handed slugger Trey Mancini. Obviously, the result of it being a home run is pretty unpredictable, but I would have liked to see Chad get a clean inning instead of making Montgomery go out there with a short leash.
Later on, O’Day was used in a spot where I would have went to Loaisiga. Maybe the Yankees wanted to give Loaisiga the day off, but O’Day surrendered a run which led to needing to pitch Loaisiga later in the game anyways. My theory is to use your guys while you can and in the spots you need them. Maybe you will win or lose the next game in blowout fashion and you will not need your top dogs anyways. Worry about tomorrow’s game tomorrow, especially when you are off to a bad, bad start.
Series Totals
Hitting
D.J. LeMahieu: 5 for 15 (.333 AVG), 4 BB (.474 OBP), 4 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 K (.874 OPS), 0 SB
Aaron Judge: 3 for 8 (.375 AVG), 2 BB (.500 OBP), 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 K (1.375 OPS), 0 SB
Aaron Hicks: 0 for 15 (.000 AVG), 1 BB (.059 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 4 K (.059 OPS), 0 SB
Giancarlo Stanton: 9 for 18 (.500 AVG), 1 BB (.526 OBP), 4 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 4 K (1.249 OPS), 0 SB
Gleyber Torres: 5 for 16 (.313 AVG), 2 BB (.389 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 K (.889 OPS), 0 SB
Gary Sánchez: 1 for 7 (.143 AVG), 2 BB (.333 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 K (.476 OPS), 0 SB
Gio Urshela: 5 for 15 (.333 AVG), 1 BB (.353 OBP), 1 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 4 K (.886 OPS), 0 SB
Clint Frazier: 2 for 12 (.167 AVG), 2 BB (.286 OBP), 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K (.786 OPS), 0 SB
Brett Gardner: 1 for 8 (.125 AVG), 0 BB (.125 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 K (.250 OPS), 0 SB
Kyle Higashioka: 2 for 8 (.250 AVG), 0 BB (.250 OBP), 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K (.875 OPS), 0 SB
Mike Ford: 1 for 4 (.250 AVG), 2 BB (.500 OBP), 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K (1.500 OPS), 0 SB
Rougned Odor: 2 for 9 (.222 AVG), 1 BB (.364 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3 K (.586 OPS), 0 SB
Tyler Wade: 0 for 1 (.000 AVG), 0 BB (.000 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 K (.000 OPS), 0 SB
Mike Tauchman: No appearances. Traded to Giants after Game 1.
Pitching
Deivi Garcia: 4 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 1 HR, 4 Ks, 4.50 ERA
Corey Kluber: 6.2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 0 HR, 5 Ks, W, 1.35 ERA
Domingo Germán: 7 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 6 Ks, W, 0.00 ERA
Jordan Montgomery: 5 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 HR, 1 K, 3.60 ERA
Mike King: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 2 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Justin Wilson: 1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 HR, 0 Ks, 9.00 ERA
Luis Cessa: 0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 0 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Lucas Luetge: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 1 K, 0.00 ERA
Darren O’Day: 2 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 0 HR, 2 Ks, 9.00 ERA
Chad Green: 3 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 4 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Jonathan Loaisiga: 2 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 3 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Aroldis Chapman: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 3 Ks, 0.00 ERA