BALTIMORE — The Yankees failed to secure a series split on Thursday, as the Orioles spent the afternoon beating up on the Bombers in a 7-2 win for the home team.
Baltimore started scoring in the third inning when Ryan Mountcastle tied the game at one with a home run off Carlos Rodón. The southpaw, the Yankees’ best starting pitcher up to this point, surrendered two more homers in the fourth frame, as former pinstriped prospect Jorge Mateo and No. 9 hitter Ryan McKenna both hit solo homers of their own.
Later, in the fifth, Mountcastle did some more damage with an RBI single. The Orioles then added two more runs when Jordan Westburg followed a Gleyber Torres error up with a triple. That sent Rodón to the showers before Mateo added a sacrifice fly.
Rodón began the day with a 2.48 ERA, but that mark inflated to 3.68 after he allowed six earned runs (7 total) over four complete innings. The lefty also totaled eight hits, zero walks, six strikeouts and 80 pitches in his worst start of the season.
While Rodón struggled beneath the hot Baltimore sun, Kyle Bradish posted a respectable line his season debut.
The righty, returning from a UCL sprain, held the Yankees to one earned run over 4.2 innings. Bradish also permitted four hits and two walks while striking out five over 84 pitches.
The Yankees scored their first run in the third when Anthony Rizzo dunked a single to left field. Anthony Volpe, who led the inning off with a double, scored with ease on an aggressive send from third base coach Luis Rojas, as Colton Cowser made a horrific throw to the plate.
The Yankees’ second run came in the sixth when Torres hit his first home run of the season. The second baseman had not left the yard since Sept. 7 of last year.
While Torres got that first out of the way, Thursday’s finale put a bow on a quiet series for the Yankees’ offense.
The same group that scored 36 runs in Milwaukee last weekend mustered just six runs against their division rival. On Monday, the Yankees were shut out for the fifth time this season.
The Yanks had other opportunities to score on Thursday, but they went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base.
With the Yankees’ first bout in Baltimore over, the team will return to the Bronx in second place in the American League East. On Friday, they’ll begin a six-game homestand.
Detroit is first on the docket, followed by Houston. The Tigers will throw Reese Olson, Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal in the series. All three are off to strong starts, with Skubal’s 1.72 ERA leading the way.
Marcus Stroman, Clarke Schmidt and Nestor Cortes are scheduled to start for the Yankees.
