Wells makes longest start in Orioles' loss to Yankees (updated)

NEW YORK – The one pitch that Tyler Wells wanted back tonight traveled 417 feet.

The rest of his start carried the former reliever a little farther into his transition back to a starter’s life. It was a pretty sweet ride.

Wells made his deepest dive this season with five innings and 72 pitches in the Orioles’ 5-2 loss to the Yankees in The Bronx. He retired 13 of the last 14 batters after Giancarlo Stanton homered in the first.

Stanton became the seventh-fastest player to reach 350 home runs with his two-run shot off Wells. Aaron Judge singled with one out, Anthony Rizzo flied out and Stanton launched a 94 mph fastball over the fence in left-center field, the exit velocity 108.6 mph, per Statcast.

Wells retired 10 of the next 11 batters to get him through the fourth, matching his previous high on April 16 versus the Yankees at Camden Yards. Manager Brandon Hyde sent him back out for the fifth, and Wells responded by striking out Joey Gallo on a 94 mph fastball and coaxing ground balls from Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Jose Trevino.

Shortstop Jorge Mateo showed off his range to make the backhand stop against Trevino, who couldn’t outrun a long, arcing throw from deep in the hole.

Wells allowed two runs and three hits with no walks and four strikeouts. He’s back on the mound Monday night against the Twins in Baltimore.

“We were going to extend him a little bit today if things were going well, and they were,” Hyde said. “He threw the ball great. I thought he got better actually as the game went on. The break in the slider got better, his fastball for me played better in that third, fourth and fifth inning. He gave us five innings, which was huge.”

Hyde wasn’t tempted to push Wells beyond the fifth.

“That’s the most he’s thrown by far,” Hyde said. “Him going five innings around 70 pitches, that was definitely the max, and happy he got that.”

Hyde texted Wells this morning to prepare him for a longer assignment.

It read: “I’m going to leave you out there a little longer. Go get it today.”

“And he did,” Hyde said. “He gave up the homer early. Stanton, fastball down and away. There’s three guys on the planet who can do that. And then was great after that.”

Wells said he responded to the message with, “Let’s go. I’m all for it.”

“It was really nice, honestly, because you can actually go out there and not think about having restrictions,” Wells said. “You can go out there, you can pitch, you can give your team the best opportunity to win. So, I was really happy he texted me that. It definitely gave me a lot of confidence to go out there and just go at them.

"I think everything got better as the game progressed."

In two starts against the Yankees, Wells has allowed only two runs and six hits in nine innings. He’s surrendered six runs in four innings in two starts against the Rays and Athletics.

“It isn’t just because it’s the Yankees,” he said. “I think the best way for me to put it is that I know I have to be better against a lineup like the Yankees. There isn’t any breaks in that lineup. And I think that’s part of my learning process. Learning more about how to keep my focus out there, learn how to pitch rather than try to blow it by guys like I did last year and making bad pitches, kind of like what I did to Stanton today. But that just goes to show right there that that is a really good lineup and you can’t afford bad pitches. So, learning just how to pitch again is big for me.”

Anthony Santander tied the game in the sixth with a two-out, two-run homer against Jordan Montgomery after Cedric Mullins singled. The Orioles had two hits when the inning began.

Santander destroyed a changeup, standing at the plate to admire its flight - 427 feet and 110.3 mph off the bat. He’s reached base in all 18 games and 19 in a row dating to 2021.

"I've always seen that player in him. It was just a matter of it coming out," Mullins said. "He's feeling really good out there, he's seeing the ball well and communicating with us how he's feeling so we can jump on the bandwagon."

Joey Krehbiel hadn’t allowed an earned run in 8 1/3 innings before tonight. He replaced Wells, the tandem plan tweaked, and left with runners on the corners and one out.

Stanton lined to deep center field against Félix Bautista to score DJ LeMahieu, who drew a leadoff walk and moved to third on a hit-and-run single by Anthony Rizzo. The game no longer was tied, and the Orioles fell to 6-12 overall and 3-6 on a trip that concludes Thursday afternoon.

Bautista stayed in the game and Joey Gallo pulled a 98 mph fastball into the right field seats. The first homer surrendered by Bautista in eight appearances. Dillon Tate inherited a runner from Bautista later in the inning, and he scored on a wild pitch for a 5-2 lead.

“Bautista is new to the league, and we’re going to take our chances with 98 (mph)," Hyde said.

"There's some big boys on the field, for sure."

The Orioles didn’t wait until the fifth inning tonight for their first baserunner or the sixth for their first hit. Ramón Urías singled in the second inning. He singled again in the sixth after Montgomery hit Austin Hays and was replaced by Michael King.

Mateo was seven-for-seven in stolen base attempts before the third inning, when he got caught in a rundown after a leadoff double. Ryan McKenna was hit by a pitch, Mullins flied to center, Mateo strayed too far from second base, and Montgomery spun and began a 1-4-5-6 putout.

A loss was coming, but Wells' outing eased the sting.

"He pitched really well today," Mullins said. "He gave us a chance to do some damage later on. It just didn't work out in our favor, but he's doing a really good job out there."

Down on the farm, Adley Rutschman went 0-for-4 at high Single-A Aberdeen. Coby Mayo hit his third home run in two nights and added a two-run single. Colton Cowser came within a homer of the cycle.

Rico Garcia, on an injury rehab assignment after undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing the 2021 season, struck out six batters in two scoreless innings. He allowed one hit, and I’m told his fastball sat 95-96 mph in the cold.

Houston Roth tossed five scoreless innings and didn’t walk a batter.

Jordan Westburg hit his fifth home run for Double-A Bowie and Gunnar Henderson hit his third. Ryan Watson allowed two hits in five scoreless innings.

Triple-A Norfolk’s Brandon Knight allowed six runs and 13 hits in 4 1/3 innings.