Orioles battle back to defeat Yankees 7-6 before sellout crowd

The Orioles took the field for the first time at Camden Yards this season and gave the sellout crowd quite the show. Baltimore climbed back after relinquishing an early four-run lead and secured a 7-6 victory over the Yankees before 45,017 fans.

Adley Rutschman delivered a clutch at bat to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth, and Ramón Urías provided Baltimore the lead for good with an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh. Félix Bautista worked around Aaron Judge with two outs in the ninth and earned the save by retiring Anthony Rizzo for the final out of the game.

The Orioles jumped out to an early lead with a pair of runs in the second. Gunnar Henderson got things started with a one-out single and moved up a base when Urías worked a walk.

Adam Frazier—Baltimore’s most significant free agent signing on the offensive side of the ball—drove in the first run of the year at Camden Yards. Frazier punched a single into right field that plated Henderson and advanced Urías to third.

Austin Hays followed with a grounder to second base. Gleyber Torres sped up in an effort to turn two but booted the ball in the process. Urías came around to score while both Frazier and Hays reached base safely. Jorge Mateo struck out swinging and Cedric Mullins bounced out to end the inning, but the Birds did not wait long to strike again.

Rutschman walked to start the third and quickly advanced on a double by Anthony Santander. Ryan Mountcastle drove a deep fly ball to center field that scored Rutschman without a throw. Santander remained at second after the sacrifice, but Henderson drove him in with a double to left-center field. The O’s led 4-0 after three innings of play.

Baltimore starter Dean Kremer walked a batter in each of the first two innings but managed to scatter base runners through the first three frames. Kremer produced a shutdown inning in the third after the Orioles took the lead, but faltered after the O’s secured the four run advantage.

Kremer picked up two quick outs in the fourth before allowing a single to Oswaldo Cabrera. The Orioles’ number two starter issued his third walk of the game to Jose Trevino but made his greatest mistake against a familiar face.

Franchy Cordero opted out when the Orioles declined to include him on the Opening Day roster and did not wait long to exact his revenge. Kremer missed his target with a 1-1 cutter and Cordero launched it into the seats. Suddenly, the Orioles led by only one.

Kremer struck out Aaron Judge for the second time during a clean fifth inning. He left the game still in line for a victory after allowing a leadoff single to Giancarlo Stanton in the sixth. Unfortunately, Logan Gillaspie failed to hold the lead.

Gillaspie walked Torres before coughing up a two-run double to Cabrera. Gillaspie managed to record one out before Brandon Hyde turned to Danny Coulombe. Coulombe minimized the damage by generating a pop out from pinch-hitter Isiah Kiner-Falefa and striking out Anthony Volpe to end the inning. Still, the Yankees led 5-4.

Mateo sparked the Birds with a one out single in the sixth. He quickly stole second and advanced to third on a groundout by Cedric Mullins. Rutschman delivered a vintage at bat with the tying run 90-feet from home plate.

Yankee reliever Ron Marinaccio exclusively pitched Rutschman on the outside portion of the plate. Rutschman, batting from the left side, worked the count full before punching a ball into left field. The knock evened the score at five and brought the raucous crowd to their feet.

Cionel Pérez need only five pitches to retire the top three Yankee batters in the seventh, and Baltimore’s offense carried the momentum in the bottom half of the inning. Ryan Mountcastle worked a leadoff walk, stole second, and then Urías delivered the big blow with a double to center field.

Urías scored twice, worked a walk and finished 2-for-3 with the games most significant RBI. He revealed in the postgame interview on MASN that today’s game marked the first time his parents saw him play in the Major Leagues. He provided the Orioles a crucial insurance run by scoring on a wild pitch later in the seventh.

Pérez returned to the mound but allowed a run on three consecutive hits to start the eighth. Bryan Baker entered with the tying and go-ahead runs already on base, but the 28-year-old rose to the occasion.

Baker generated a sharp groundball to the man of the hour, and Urías turned a nifty double play to record two quick outs. Baker blew away Kiner-Falefa for the third out and let out a tremendous scream that the Baltimore crowd matched with joy.

Judge advanced to third after a stolen base and a wild pitch in the ninth inning, but Bautista forced Rizzo into a shallow pop out to end the threat. The Orioles moved to 4-3 on the season and will face the Yankees again tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. with Cole Irvin on the mound.