Sometimes you don’t need the hit with runners in scoring position. Sometimes a walk will do. It did for the Orioles late last night.
We’ve seen many games at Oriole Park over the years that were close between the Orioles and Yankees, games when New York made the key play late to beat the Orioles. Friday was not that night.
The Orioles' unheralded bullpen was sensational and it was Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman who cracked, issuing the bases-loaded walk to Ramón Urías as the O’s beat the Yankees 2-1 in 11 innings.
Chapman is the seven-time All-Star who has record 30 or more saves the last three full seasons. The power lefty with a career ERA of 0.54 and WHIP of 0.690 in 34 career games versus the Orioles. His K rate against the O’s is 18.6.
Yep, it was that pitcher who cracked to the delight of most of a crowd of 32,197. This time Camden Yards didn’t sound like Yankee Stadium south at the end of the night.
Urías fell behind 0-2 in the count and New York was an out and strike away from sending this game to the 12th inning. But Urías coaxed four straight balls out of Chapman to drive in the winning run.
The Orioles went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position and are 4-for-46 on this homestand and 6-for-70 on the season with runners in scoring position. Yikes, not good. Their offense has scored two runs or fewer five times and just 14 runs for the season. But they did beat the Yankees to begin the weekend series and get to 2-5.
Starter Jordan Lyles gave the Orioles a decent outing, allowing one run over 5 1/3 innings in his second O’s outing.
Then the bullpen grouping of Dillon Tate, Jorge López, Bryan Baker, Cionel Pérez and Joey Krehbiel was sensational and almost perfect. Tate got a big double play ball in the sixth, Baker fanned two in the ninth and he and Krehbiel kept the placed runners at second base from scoring in extra innings.
The O’s ‘pen gave up one hit, and that was when Giancarlo Stanton’s grounder that hit a runner to record an out and officially provided him a base hit. The Baltimore ‘pen allowed that one hit and no runs over 5 2/3, with no walks and nine strikeouts.
The O’s bullpen has an ERA of 2.06 after Friday’s game to rank second-best in the American League, and the team ERA of 3.19 is sixth-best in the league.
The Orioles walked 10 times for the first time since May 6, 2012 at Boston, and for the first time at home since May 7, 2011 versus Tampa Bay. With their 10 walks, the Orioles now rank second in base on balls in the AL with 34, trailing only the Mariners, who have 39.
Just 20 runs have been scored between the O’s and their opponents in the four games of this homestand, and Baltimore pitchers have not allowed a home run yet at Camden Yards.
The O’s offense has produced just 10 runs in the four games of the homestand. For the year the O’s season high is four runs scored in a game, and their season high for hits is eight.
The Orioles are 9-11 versus the Yankees since the start of the 2021 season.
Norfolk is raking: On the farm Friday night, Tyler Nevin and Kyle Stowers combined for 13 RBIs as the Triple-A Norfolk Tides won 14-7 at Scranton. Nevin went 3-for-6 with a grand slam. His eight RBI’s tied a franchise record set by Phil Lombardi in 1988.
Norfolk is 7-3 and has won six of its last seven. The Tides have scored 26 runs the last two nights, 34 in four games in this series and 71 in 10 games. At 7-3, Norfolk is off to its best 10-game start since becoming an O’s affiliate in 2007.
Stowers is now 8-for-15 over four games after going 4-for-5 last night with three doubles, a homer and five RBIs. He has seven extra-base hits in those four games, five doubles and two home runs.
Double-A Bowie beat Binghamton 6-2 as JD Mundy went 4-for-4 with a homer. On the mound, right-hander Brandon Young went the first five innings and Cameron Bishop the last four, and they teamed on a 9-hitter.
High Single-A Aberdeen scored five runs in the last of the eighth to tie Wilmington and then scored twice in the 10th to win 8-7. The IronBirds also won via a walk-off walk. TT Bowens was at the plate for this one.
Low Single-A Delmarva lost via a walk-off, 4-3 at Lynchburg. Davis Tavárez had a two-run double for the Shorebirds.