Castro surrenders late three-run homer in 6-4 loss (with quotes)

The Orioles legends keep coming back to Camden Yards. Brooks, Eddie, Cakes, Cal and Boog for the home opener and again last night for the celebration of Frank Robinson's life.

No last names needed.

The 2019 Orioles aren't as easy to identify, scorecards a necessary expense following the roster turnover that began in earnest last July. But there was no mistaking a winning record that traveled back to Baltimore after a two-city road trip to start the season.

Also recognizable is the first three-game losing streak of 2019 and the fall to .500.

Aaron Judge homered twice off Dylan Bundy in the first three innings, coming out of his power shell, and Clint Frazier hit a decisive three-run shot off Miguel Castro in the eighth to give the Yankees a 6-4 win before an announced crowd of 27,504 at Camden Yards.

Castro replaced Paul Fry with one out and nobody on base. He retired Gary Sánchez, but a walk and single put runners on the corners. Castro was pumping upper-90s fastballs, but he fed Frazier an 87 mph slider on a 2-2 count and paid a heavy price.

One swing and a comeback by the Orioles in the bottom of the seventh was wasted.

The Orioles put runners on the corners with no outs against Jonathan Holder, and Cedric Mullins scored the tying run against Adam Ottavino on pinch-hitter Chris Davis' fielder's choice grounder. First baseman Greg Bird bobbled the ball and threw late to the plate.

Jonathan Villar swiped third base, a daring move with a left-handed batter at the plate, and he scored the go-ahead run on pinch-hitter Rio Ruiz's long fly ball to center field.

The Orioles left the bases loaded in the eighth against Chad Green when Davis smoked a one-hopper to Bird after falling behind 0-2, fouling off a couple pitches and taking two out of the strike zone. He's hitless in 19 at-bats and 23 plate appearances, but he has two RBIs.

Bundy lasted only 3 2/3 innings for the second time, charged with three runs and six hits and throwing 85 pitches. He walked two batters to raise his total to seven in 7 1/3 innings. He has nine strikeouts, including two tonight.

Judge's first home run of the season struck the batter's eye and was measured by Statcast at 412 feet with a 110 mph exit velocity - both figures seem a little low - to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Trey Mancini matched it in the bottom half, reaching the flag court in right for his fourth homer in six games, but Judge dented the eye again in the third with a two-run shot measured at 418 feet and 109 mph off the bat.

The 41 homers allowed by Bundy last season led the majors, and he's at two in 2019.

Judge was 2-for-13 with a home run and six strikeouts against Bundy before tonight. He has eight multi-homer games in his career, with half coming against the Orioles.

Bringing back a leg lift that had been grounded since the spring, Judge demolished a 92 mph fastball and 79 mph slider from Bundy, who needed 71 pitches to get through three innings.

Bundy collected two of his outs on shots to deep left field and he benefitted from a weird 7-6-3-4 double play after Gleyber Torres failed to touch second base on his way back to first on D.J. LeMahieu's liner to left.

Mike Tauchman followed with a double and John Means replaced Bundy.

Means retired all three batters he faced with two strikeouts, including Judge on a nasty changeup in the fifth before Nate Karns replaced him in the right-hander's switch from the opener role. Means has nine strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

The Yankees loaded the bases against Karns with no outs in the sixth and Paul Fry replaced him. Catcher Pedro Severino picked off Sánchez at third base, Frazier struck out and pinch-hitter Gio Urshela grounded out. The Orioles kept the deficit at one run.

Fry retired all six batters he faced and was on the mound for seven outs. The chance at a win dissolved with Frazier's home run, his first in the majors since July 28, 2017.

Castro has surrendered home runs in his last three appearances, including Luke Voit's three-run shot Thursday night.

Dwight Smith Jr. reached on an infield single in the fourth inning and moved to second on J.A. Happ's errant flip, running his season-opening hitting streak to eight games.

Richie Martin, however, continues to struggle at the plate. He struck out three times and is 2-for-22 with 11 strikeouts.

Happ came out with two on and one out in the fifth. Mullins singled from the right side of the plate, a significant at-bat, and Joey Rickard walked.

Mancini popped up against Holder, but Renato Núñez lined an RBI single into left field to reduce the lead to 3-2.

Rickard and Núñez were lifted for pinch-hitters in the seventh and Davis and Ruiz drove in runs. The right buttons pushed, but the wrong outcome for a team trying to create its own identity.

Manager Brandon Hyde on Castro slider: "I think it's an easy second-guess. I like Castro in that spot with a row of right-handers coming up. He had been throwing the ball good. He just made a bad pitch in a tough spot and Frazier made him pay for it.

"I just love the fight in our guys. I think we're playing really good baseball. We've just had a couple tough pitches out of the 'pen recently. But I love how we're playing the game. We're playing really well defensively, playing no-fear offensively, grinding out at-bats against tough pitching. A good team. So I'm really proud of how we're playing."

Hyde on Castro vs. Frazier: "I like the Castro-Frazier matchup. It just didn't happen tonight. Got him to two strikes. Might have overcooked a slider a little bit that backed up and ended up on the inner half of the plate. I think we learn from those mistakes, and I'm going to continue throwing him out there. It's just one of those tough breaks."

Hyde on what he's seeing with Bundy: "I just thought they wore him down. He had a tough time putting guys away. There were a lot of long at-bats. He was at 85 pitches in the fourth with a lot of stress and a lot of traffic. There were a couple ABs that were pretty lengthy. Torres kind of wore him down a little bit, but that's kind of the way it goes.

"We did a nice job against their starter. Happ's a legit starting pitcher. I was really happy with our at-bats against him, getting him out in the fifth also. That's the way it goes."

Hyde on left-handed relief: "Unbelievable. Yeah. Paul Fry, John Means, both of those guys have been amazing. (Richard) Bleier, we are being patient with him a little bit coming off a tough injury last year, but Fry and Means have both pitched huge innings for us, putting up zeros. Just done a great job, both those guys."

Hyde on Davis at-bat in eighth: "CD, what a really good at-bat, hits the ball right on the screws and just didn't work out, but really good at-bats up and down the lineup. Grind-type at-bats, not giving in against tough pitching. Just really happy with how our at-bats have been this first week of the season."

Castro (via Orioles Spanish translator Ramón Alarcón) on giving up homers: "I think the pitches have been up, been missing. Commanding my pitches has been the main reason."

Castro on whether he questions using slider: "My slider is one of my best pitches. Unfortunately, it was up and he did a good swing."

Bundy on what he takes out of start: "Got to get deeper in the game. I think that's the first thing. A lot of foul balls. I couldn't quite get them to bite on some two-strike pitches that I was really trying to get them to bite on, so just kind of ran the pitch count up again like I did last time."

Bundy on whether Yankees get credit or he needs to adjust: "It's a tough lineup. I guess you could adjust it an inch or two here and there to get a swing and a miss or weak contact. It's a tough lineup and they were doing their part on battling and fouling pitches off and getting pitches they could hit."

Bundy on what he will work on between starts: "Slider wasn't quite as sharp, and I think I can work on that a little bit more to get them to bite on that and, hopefully, put them away a little earlier in the count."

Bundy on being impressed by how team keeps fighting back: "Absolutely. I think we have a not-giving-up mentality with this team, and if we're down I think we always believe we can come back. Our guys did a good job tonight coming back, and we made it a close ballgame."