The New York Yankees fell to the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 on Monday night, squandering a dominant performance from left-hander Ryan Weathers. The loss marked the Yankees’ fourth consecutive defeat after being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend.
Ben Rice delivered New York’s first two hits of the contest, with the second putting the team on the scoreboard. After Trent Grisham drew a one-out walk in the third inning, Rice crushed a two-run homer to left-center field, giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead. It was the 13th home run of the season for the emerging slugger.
Weathers turned in arguably his finest start since joining the Yankees, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning. After issuing a leadoff walk to open the game, he retired 13 straight Orioles, including five consecutive strikeouts during the second and third frames. The lefty issued his second walk with one out in the fifth inning but quickly regrouped to end the inning.
He worked a 1-2-3 sixth before Adley Rutschman broke up the no-hit bid with a leadoff single in the seventh. Weathers stayed in to get Pete Alonso to ground out, then walked Tyler O’Neill to end his night. He finished after 101 pitches over 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on just one hit, three walks, and nine strikeouts.
Manager Aaron Boone’s decision to bring left-hander Brent Headrick out of the bullpen backfired. Headrick surrendered a three-run homer to the first batter he faced, Coby Mayo, giving Baltimore a 3-2 lead on just their second hit of the night and adding two earned runs to Weathers’ line.
The Yankees squandered two prime opportunities to extend their lead. Aaron Judge led off the sixth with a double and advanced to third on Cody Bellinger’s groundout, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. struck out and Ryan McMahon grounded out to leave him stranded. The seventh inning played out nearly identically: Max Schuemann, starting at shortstop with Jose Caballero sidelined, doubled with one out but was left at third after Austin Wells and Trent Grisham both grounded out. New York finished the game 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left five runners on base.
McMahon gave fans a brief thrill in the top of the ninth with a deep drive to right field, but Tyler O’Neill caught it at the wall. Caballero, pinch-running for Paul Goldschmidt with two outs, attempted to steal second base. Baltimore challenged the call on the field, and the ruling was overturned, ending the game.
Game MVP: Brandon Young. The Orioles’ right-hander allowed the two-run homer to Rice but limited the Yankees otherwise, permitting two runs on three hits over 5.1 innings with five strikeouts and three walks.
What’s Next: The Yankees continue their three-game series against the Orioles on Tuesday, with Will Warren (4-1, 3.46 ERA) taking the mound for New York. Baltimore has yet to announce their starter.
