Just as it seemed as if the Yankees were going to sneak out of town with the series in their back pocket, the O’s…or more directly, Matt Wieters, had another outcome in mind.
We’ll dig further into Sunday’s dramatics in a moment.
First, after an RBI single from Pedro Alvarez gave the O’s the early 1-0 lead on Friday, the Yankees responded strongly with a two-run home run from Carlos Beltran and a solo blast from Alex Rodriguez to take a 3-1 lead before Chris Davis launched his 11th homer of the year to peg back a run heading into the fifth.
The Yankees would pull ahead further with a solo homer from Austin Romine in the fifth and an RBI single by Chase Headley in the sixth, and it seemed as if the visiting Bronx Bombers would take the series opener with Nathan Eovaldi dealing on the mound and having a comfortable 5-2 lead. The Orioles had other plans in the bottom of the sixth.
Eovaldi went a bit too long in this one, and the O’s got to him with a three-run outburst in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by a two-RBI single from Wieters and an equalizing RBI double from Jonathan Schoop. The O’s wouldn’t have to wait long to complete the comeback as Adam Jones scored the eventual game winning run on a Manny Machado grounder off Dellin Betances in the seventh. Flash forward a bit, and Zach Britton would lock up his 16th save of the season in the ninth to clinch the O’s 6-5 comeback win.
Saturday had disaster written all over it after a four-run display from the Bronx Bombers in the fourth inning put the O’s in a 5-0 hole, which quickly turned into quicksand after Starlin Castro made it 6-0 with an RBI single in the fifth. Jacoby Ellsbury would then pour some salt into the O’s wounds by sneakily stealing home on a delayed double steal in the sixth to make it 7-0 Yankees.
It’s all done and dusted, right? Wrong.
The O’s would unleash a six-run, three home run comeback in the seventh inning. Mark Trumbo blasted a solo shot to finally put one on the board for the home team, followed by a two-run blast by Pedro Alvarez and a massive three-run bomb from Jones to cut the Yanks lead to 7-6.
That was all she wrote for the Orioles, however, as Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman would stifle the O’s furious comeback attempt and slam the door shut for the remainder of the game. Rodriguez added an insurance run with an RBI single in the ninth, and the Yankees would hang on for an 8-6 victory to force a Sunday rubber match.
After the late fireworks display on Saturday, Sunday’s matinee featured an intense pitching duel between CC Sabathia (5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 6 BB, 5 K) and a resilient Kevin Gausman (6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), but Rodriguez’s RBI single in the third inning was the only tick on the scoreboard going into the bottom of the eighth inning.
Despite finally getting a quality start from Gausman and a nice display from T.J. McFarland, it seemed as if the O’s were going to be on the wrong end of a one-to-nil decision. After Mark Trumbo led off the eigth with a walk and Davis singled off of Betances, the rain came and a 97-minute delay ensued.
And as if the odds weren’t stacked against the O’s already, Chapman came on after the delay was over to finish the job and immediately struck out Schoop. But Francisco Pena would proceed to load the bases on a single to right and gave the O’s the chance they needed.
On came Wieters to pinch-hit for Ryan Flaherty. He quickly fell into an 0-2 count against the Yankees superstar closer. But with the Orioles “Goonies never say die” attitude, the rest is history.
Wieters came through on the big stage and cleared the bases with a two-RBI single, aided by a throwing error by Ellsbury to score Pena, and just like that, the birds were up 3-1. Britton would lock it up in the ninth for his 17th save of the season, and the O’s came away with their second comeback win of the series with the 3-1 triumph.
I’m literally about to start calling this team “The Goonies,” because they never, ever die. Even when the case seems closed and the eleventh hour is upon us, they find a way to flip the script and come out on top.
Now, let’s take a look at a few highlights from the three-game clash against the Yankees:
– Again, let’s start with the negatives, because I always want to end on a strong and positive note. Going into Sunday’s matinee, the Orioles starting rotation had posted a dreadful 6.68 ERA over their previous 19 games and had just five quality starts during that span. Here’s to hoping that Gausman’s valiant outing yesterday will help turn that trend around.
– Another trend that needs to start reversing: the O’s have allowed 113 runs over their last 20 games, which is 5.6 runs per game. They’ve scored 93 during that stretch. They’ve also allowed 58 runs over their last nine games, which is a woeful 6.4 runs allowed per game. Needless to say, this pitching staff needs to sharpen up heading towards the dog days of summer. If they don’t, it won’t matter if our offense is hitting or not. Take that as you will.
Let’s end on some positive notes…
– The continued dominance over New York: It’s nice to say that after getting creamed against them for so long, isn’t it? The O’s have now took four of the first six games against the Bronx Bombers on the year, and have posted a sparkling 9-2 clip versus them over the past 11 encounters. And as for all of those Yankees fans that come to Baltimore? They come to see their team fail, as the O’s have posted a 17-5 mark versus the Yankees at Camden Yards over their past 22 meetings at OPACY.
– Wieters has been on a phenomenal run of form as of late, recording base hits in 13 of his last 14 contests. He boasts a stellar .369 average with seven runs, three doubles, three home runs and 16 RBI over his last 18 games. On the year, Wieters is hitting .287 with seven doubles, four home runs and 24 RBI.
– Despite going 0-for-3 on Sunday, Mark Trumbo still hitting .291 with seven runs, three homers and six RBI in his last six games. On the year, Trumbo leads the club with 18 HR and 43 RBI to go along with nine doubles and a .292 batting average.
– Pedro ‘’EL Toro’’ Alvarez seems to finally be heating up and has posted a .290 average with four runs, two doubles, three homers and seven RBI over his past nine contests. On the year, Alvarez is hitting .217 with eight doubles, five home runs and 16 RBI.
– Hyun Soo Kim sacrificed his five-game hit streak after striking out in a pinch-hit attempt on Sunday, but still boasts a sparkling .375 average with six runs, four doubles, one homer and one RBI over his last 11 games and is still hitting a stellar .377 on the campaign.
– And while Adam Jones also saw his five-game hit streak come to a halt on Sunday, he’s posted an impressive .285 average with nine runs, two doubles, three homers and ten RBI over his last ten games. Jones sports a .236 average with eight doubles, eight home runs and 29 RBI on the season.
– And last, but not least, “The Britton Watch:” The O’s star closer is a perfect 17-for-17 in save situations this season and has posted a remarkable 1.11 ERA with a microscopic 0.66 WHIP.
That’s all for now, O’s nation! After splitting against the Sox and taking two of three against the Yanks, here’s to ending the home stand undefeated “series-wise” as the world-champion Royals head into town!
