Orioles single out Yankees for more punishment and withstand rally in ninth in 9-7 win (updated)

NEW YORK – The Orioles didn’t arrive in the Bronx today with a clinching hangover. They partied hard last night, drenching each other in champagne and beer, and sprayed singles all over Yankee Stadium.

Fill-in starter Marcus Stroman couldn’t record an out on his own in the first inning until facing his seventh batter, resulting in three runs and a wire-to-wire lead in the Orioles’ 9-7 victory before an announced crowd of 41,010.

They were ahead 9-3 in the ninth before Matt Bowman surrendered four runs, the last three on Aaron Judge's 57th homer. Keegan Akin registered his first save since 2022.

Zach Eflin battled unusual control problems, setting a career high with five walks, and he came out after 4 2/3 innings in his shortest start since June 5 in Miami. The bullpen registered 3 1/3 scoreless until Bowman entered, and the Orioles improved to 88-70.

The Tigers also won tonight, leaving the magic number at one for the Orioles to secure the home Wild Card in a series that begins Oct. 1. They moved to within four games of first place.

Their offense finished with 17 hits: 14 singles and three doubles.

Gunnar Henderson reached on an infield hit in the first, followed by singles from Jordan Westburg, Anthony Santander, Colton Cowser, Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O’Hearn. A few balls were smoked – Westburg’s at 103.1 mph and Mountcastle’s at 108.6 – but others registered at 69.5, 78 and 92.8 mph.

The six consecutive singles to start a game set a club record. The Orioles produced five in a row on Sept. 24, 2008 against the Rays: Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Aubrey Huff and Oscar Salazar, followed by Luke Scott’s double.

The Orioles loaded the bases tonight and Cowser lifted a fly ball into the left field corner that Jasson Domínguez overran, allowing two runs to score. Santander was thrown out at third base. Mountcastle’s sharp grounder up the middle increased the lead to 3-0.

“Opposite of sluggish," said manager Brandon Hyde. "Just really good at-bats from the first inning. Nice to score a few runs there early. Eff probably didn’t have his best command tonight, but he did battle, worked out of some jams. But offensively we had a really good night.”

Mountcastle said he's feeling good at the plate since Tuesday's reinstatement from the injured list.

"I got a couple at-bats down there in Triple-A just to try to get my timing down," he said, "and just going to use these last couple games here to hopefully be ready for the playoffs.”

Stroman was moved to the bullpen but got the call after Nestor Cortes went on the injured list with a left elbow strain. He left to boos after surrendering five runs and 10 hits, all singles, in 3 1/3 innings, and Clayton Beeter let an inherited runner score on Santander’s double.

Santander came home on Cowser’s double for a 7-1 lead. The crowd’s mood wasn’t getting any better.

At least the Orioles began mixing in some extra-base hits.

Henderson was 3-for-3 by the fourth inning, including a two-run single that chased Stroman. He’s 30-for-86 (.349) this month.

Eflin issued two walks in the first and got a double play grounder from Austin Wells. He walked two more in the second and Anthony Volpe singled to reduce the lead to 3-1. Eflin retired seven in a row before Anthony Rizzo’s leadoff single in the fifth, and Juan Soto hit his 41^st home run with two outs.

Judge singled, Austin Wells walked and Hyde removed Eflin at 92 pitches. Giancarlo Stanton reached on an infield hit against Jacob Webb, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. flied out.

Eflin’s season high in walks before tonight was four on July 19 at Yankee Stadium. He’s issued 10 walks against New York this season and 14 against everyone else.  

Soto entered the game 17-for-34 lifetime against Eflin. He walked and struck out in his first two plate appearances.

“I think he was just being careful with Soto and Judge there. I’m not really sure," Hyde said. "The pitch count kind of got up there. The pitch to Soto he probably wants back for the homer. I think he made pitches for the most part when he had to. The command just wasn’t what it normally is.”

“Honestly, just kind of stuck in my mechanics today," Eflin said. "Fighting an uphill battle of throwing the ball over the plate, but made pitches when I needed to. Offense was there. It was a great win. Offense had my back. Defense made some great wins, but command was definitely a little frustrating.

“They’ve worked me pretty well the last couple of times I’ve faced them, and I had a tough time throwing the ball over the plate the last couple of times here at Yankee Stadium, but it’s not something I’m worried about, especially with the statement win. Putting up nine runs always helps. I’ll get back to my mechanics and get out there next time.”

His next start will come in the postseason.

"Obviously super excited to be a part of these guys and blessed to be here," he said. "It’s such a great group of guys, and looking forward to going on a deep October run with everyone."

Cedric Mullins singled twice, doubled, walked and stole two more bases to give him 32, two short of his career high in 2022. He scored in the fifth on James McCann’s broken-bat single and in the eighth on Westburg’s single.

“We had a lot of singles, we had a lot of clutch hits. Kept the line moving," Hyde said.

"I thought our at-bats all night were really good. You can never score enough here, as we almost saw, so it was a great for us offensively.”

Danny Coulombe retired the side in order in the seventh and Gregory Soto did the same in the eighth, striking out two.

The Orioles are 8-4 against the Yankees and 4-1 in the Bronx, where they’ve scored 40 runs.  

The momentum, if such a thing exists in baseball, has shifted.

"I think just watching the games shows it," Eflin said. "It seems like we’re starting to peak at the right time, which is really important for October baseball, and we’re having a lot of fun doing it. So it’s going to be a lot of fun moving forward."

"I believe in our guys in this clubhouse and what we can do," Mountcastle said. "We're a really good team, offensively and defensively, and hopefully that leads to success.”