Didi ties Jeter, but Gray struggles as Yankees drop series finale to Baltimore 6-4
The
Yankees entered Sunday afternoon’s contest looking to complete a four-game
sweep of the Baltimore Orioles as the offense looked to stay hot to wrap up the
weekend. However, the Yankees spotted themselves an early 6-1 deficit and were
unable to complete the comeback as they fell 6-4.
Photo Credit: Seth Wenig | AP |
The
Orioles struck first in the top of the second on a sharp RBI single up the
middle by Austin Hays to score Chris Davis. Yankees starter Sonny Gray did a
nice job of limiting the damage there, which in turn allowed Didi Gregorius to
step up and tie the game with his third homer in three games in the bottom of
the second. The blast was Gregorius’ 24th on the season, tying him with Derek
Jeter for the single season record for homers in a season by a Yankee
shortstop.
Gray
gave the lead right back in the top of the third on a 3-2-2 RBI double down the
left field line by Trey Mancini to score Manny Machado all the way from first
base. It was one of the many tough breaks the Yankees faced on the afternoon. Photo Credit: Seth Wenig | AP |
The
big blow came in the top of the fourth on a two-out three-run homer by Tim
Beckham which opened up the lead to 5-1, Orioles. That inning would be Gray’s
last, as this was one of his worst starts since joining the Yankees.
Bryan
Mitchell entered the game in the fifth inning and quickly allowed the sixth
Baltimore run on a groundout by Seth Smith. Mitchell settled down after the
early trouble and only allowed that one run across three innings.
The
Yankees would start their comeback in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out
two-run double in the left-center field gap to score both Gary Sanchez and
Starlin Castro making it a 6-3 game. With new life, Aaron Judge then led off
the bottom of the eighth inning with a double to begin the Yankee threat. The
Yankees were able to get runners on first and third bringing the tying run to
the plate in Castro, but he only managed a SAC fly to bring the score to 6-4 O’s.
The
Orioles brought in their closer Zach Britton for a four-out save and he got
into a little bit of trouble in the ninth. After a one-out double by red-hot
Jacoby Ellsbury, the O’s intentionally walked Aaron Judge with two-away,
bringing the winning run to the plate in Sanchez. Unfortunately, Sanchez was
set down on strikes in an anti-climactic finish.
Winning
Pitcher: Ubaldo Jimenez (6-10, 6.57 ERA): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 10 K,
1 HR
Losing
Pitcher: Sonny Gray (9-11, 3.38 ERA): 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R (5 ER), 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
Save:
Zach Britton (15)
Notables:
Didi
Gregorius: 1-4 HR (24), RBI, R, K
Aaron
Judge: 1-4, 2B, R, BB, K
Starlin
Castro: 2-3, R, RBI, K
Matt
Holliday: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K
Bryan
Mitchell: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 4 K
Article
by: Chad Raines
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