The Baltimore Orioles secured their second consecutive playoff berth by defeating the New York Yankees 5-3 on Tuesday night, despite Aaron Judge hitting his major league-leading 56th home run. The Orioles’ victory, along with Minnesota’s loss to Miami, confirmed Baltimore’s spot in at least an American League wild card position. Anthony Santander, Ramón Urías, and Colton Cowser all contributed home runs for the Orioles, who now sit five games behind the AL East-leading Yankees with five games remaining in the season. Closing the season series and holding the tiebreaker against the Yankees, Baltimore would need to win all five remaining games while New York loses all five for the Orioles to top the division standings.
New York, who secured a playoff berth the previous week, can clinch the AL East with just one more win. Despite Baltimore struggling in seven of their last ten games, Santander’s performance stood out as he hit his 44th home run in the sixth inning. Urías and Cowser also added to the scoreline with their home runs during the game. Dean Kremer’s solid pitching performance, allowing only one run and three hits in five innings, coupled with Seranthony Domínguez’s save, contributed to the Orioles’ victory.
Various interesting moments occurred during the game, including Gleyber Torres’ RBI double and Juan Soto’s run-scoring single for the Yankees, but an unfortunate rundown between third base and home plate led to Torres being tagged out, preventing Judge from a crucial at-bat with runners on base. Additionally, Knicks player Josh Hart and former New York center fielder Bernie Williams were part of the ceremonial first pitch and the national anthem performance, respectively.
In terms of injuries, Orioles’ 1B Ryan Mountcastle returned from the injured list and RHP Grayson Rodriguez did not play due to a lat injury. On the Yankees’ side, RHP Jake Cousins aims to return to the field after dealing with a right pectoral strain. Looking ahead, Yankees’ LHP Nestor Cortes will face off against RHP Zach Eflin in the upcoming game.
