A few thoughts and notes on a series win in the Bronx

A few thoughts, notes and impressions on today's game and this weekend as the Orioles ended a six-game road trip to Toronto and New York going a respectable 3-3. They take two of three at New York, winning a series in the Bronx for the first time since March 28-31, 2019.

* The last five games of this trip were each decided by two runs or less, with the Orioles going 3-2. That is certainly a sign of progress, but in a very small sample size. But you take that in the American League East on the road, where the Orioles recently ended a 16-game division losing streak. They did that with Tuesday's win and are 3-2 since.

* The Orioles were 0-for-7 today with runners in scoring position through the sixth inning. Cedric Mullins got to third with no outs in the first and they couldn't score him. The O's stranded two each in the fourth and fifth innings.

But then they broke through going 4-for-7 with RISP in the seventh, as they scored four runs to lead 8-7.

The first four batters reached and all would score and be charged to lefty Andrew Heaney. Jahmai Jones produced a two-run double with the bases loaded to pull the O's within 7-6. They tied it on a Jorge Mateo bloop single to right. It came on the 12th pitch of the at-bat as he battled wonderfully and his bloop fell into short right. Then, batting No. 9, Kelvin Gutiérrez came up with a clutch RBI single to left on an 0-2 pitch against Wandy Peralta for an 8-7 lead. Gutiérrez got a pitch that was off the outside corner, but still got enough of the ball to come up with a huge hit for the lead.

* When Mullins hit a two-run homer to right in the top of the sixth, he became the third Oriole ever to have a season of 25 or more homers and 25 stolen bases. He joins Don Baylor, who hit 25 homers with 32 steals in 1975, and Reggie Jackson, with 27 homers and 28 steals in 1976. Mullins got a 2-2 changeup for No. 25 and has 26 steals, getting No. 26 in the first inning today.

There was a key play before that Mullins homer. Gutiérrez hit a grounder to short and Gleyber Torres took his time and didn't gun a throw to first. Gutiérrez beat it out for an infield hit to keep the inning going. Mullins followed with a homer. Hustle on one end, and a lack thereof or a lack of awareness of Gutiérrez's running speed on the other end, led to two big O's runs.

* Birds lefty Keegan Akin allowed a grand slam to Gary Sánchez in the second inning today that put the Orioles in an early 4-1 hole. The frustration there was that Akin threw nine pitches to Sánchez and all nine were fastballs. Looking to bust him inside on a 3-2 pitch, instead the ball found too much of the plate and Sánchez hit his 19th homer. He would add his 20th a few innings later.

Hopefully, Akin won't make that mistake again, throwing so many consecutive fastballs to a power right-handed bat. He did recover well from that, and allowed no more runs through the fourth, and the Yankees went just 3-for-15 at-bat against him. He would get a strikeout later on a changeup to Aaron Judge and a slider to Torres. But the lack of using a secondary offering in the Sánchez at-bat led to four runs. Akin is pitching better overall as the season is winding down.

* It was nice to see the Orioles score some runs today. Their pitching had a good series and the offense chipped in this afternoon. They had scored just seven runs in the series' first two games. And coming into today, they had scored four runs or less in seven of eight games.

* It was also nice to see Tanner Scott and Tyler Wells throw scoreless ball over the last 2 2/3 innings. Wells pitched a 1-2-3 last of the ninth, getting out New York's 3-4-5 hitters for his first career save.

Now the Birds come home for a Labor Day afternoon outing tomorrow versus Kansas City. It begins a long homestand where they host Kansas City for four games, Toronto for four games in three days and the Yankees for three more in the second-to-last homestand of the 2021 season.