The Orioles needed a reliever more than a position player tonight, which led to them recalling right-hander Tayler Scott from Triple-A Norfolk.
Scott made two relief appearances for the Orioles and allowed five runs in two innings. He surrendered two home runs. However, he's tossed 13 scoreless innings and recorded one walk and 17 strikeouts with Norfolk.
Miguel Castro is "iffy" for tonight's game, according to manager Brandon Hyde. Castro threw on the field and did some running, and the Orioles will determine later if he's available.
Castro has been sick and staying in the clubhouse. His last appearance was July 30.
"The good news is he's here, feeling a lot better," Hyde said. "Got a little running in, got a light workout. Questionable for tonight's game."
The two-man bench should expand on Tuesday. Gabriel Ynoa is starting tonight and the Orioles figure to make it a bullpen game, unsure how many innings the right-hander can provide.
"We wanted the extra arm," Hyde said, "so we switched out Tayler for Dillon (Tate)."
Weighing the two possibilities, the Orioles figure it's more likely that they'll need an extra reliever than a third reserve.
"We want to make sure we have enough pitching," Hyde said. "On a night like tonight where you have a bullpen game, you're more concerned about having enough innings than you are if I can pinch-run for somebody late. We're going to cover our bases with the pitching."
Outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. remains on the injured list with a strained left calf and doesn't expect to be ready when he's eligible to return on Friday.
"It's a little bit of improvement," Smith said. "It's progressing, like not limping as much. I feel a little bit better than I have last week, so I've just got to take it easy.
"I'm probably going to be past the 10 days. I'm not sure when. I'm just doing it day-by-day right now and seeing how I feel every day. I don't want to re-aggravate it or have a setback, so I'm just going to take it easy."
The biggest test will be running and stopping.
"I pretty much like to run a lot, and I'm pretty active in the field and hitting-wise and on the bases, so I've got to be able to stop and turn whenever I can," he said. "When I feel comfortable with that, that's when I'll probably get the green light."
Smith said the calf soreness was a recent issue, but he's been hurting for much of the season and playing through the discomfort.
"I've had other ailments that have been bothering me, so it's kind of like it came down to my calf," he said. "It kind of came out of nowhere with my calf, but my body's just been sore pretty much all year. But it'll be all right."
Smith came out of the July 27 game in Anaheim with the injury, tried to play two nights later in San Diego and exited again after a single in his only at-bat.
"I did take a day off and I thought I was good to go in San Diego," he said. "I moved around normal and then came in and pinch-hit, and as soon as I took that step I really felt it. That's why I knew there was something wrong and I really had to rest it."
Smith came out of a lengthy slump to collect nine hits in parts of nine games before the injury. The timing is poor, but he isn't lamenting how he's unable to be part of a more productive stretch from the Orioles.
"The team's doing well and I have no problem watching them play and doing their thing, and just enjoying them having fun and playing the game right," he said. "I'm just being supportive. It's always good to watch the team win."
The Orioles outrighted pitcher Nate Karns to Norfolk after he cleared waivers, according to the International League transactions. Karns can decline the assignment and become a free agent, but he'd forfeit the rest of his $800,000 salary.
Chandler Shepherd was named the International League's Pitcher of the Week.
Hyde said the club hasn't discussed September call-ups. He's looking forward to checking out more of the younger talent.
"Anytime we can add guys on the roster and give guys some experience up here, be able to see some guys that are in Triple-A right now potentially having the opportunity to play up here, it's going to be fun to watch," he said.
"Anytime you watch young players that you're interested in, it's exciting. And at the major league level in September against teams that are trying to win, that's a lot of fun. So I'm looking forward to the next two months."
Player are wearing black T-shirts with "Let Stevie Pitch" written across the front. Hyde jokingly asked if he's under pressure to do it.
Hyde enjoyed watching the more than 4,000 Scouts from the United Kingdom sitting in the left field stands yesterday interacting with Anthony Santander and bringing a jolt of energy to the ballpark with their chants and loud cheering.
The group was part of the UK Contingent to the 2019 World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia.
"Loved it," Hyde said. "Told him it was like in Wrigley a little bit. Just the energy out there was phenomenal. Are those guys coming tonight? I wish they were.
"I loved the atmosphere. I thought it was great. I loved how Tony handled it, too. Obviously, they latched onto him right away with how he was throwing the ball into the stands and smiling and showing that he was having a good time with it, too. So I thought the whole thing was great."
Gleyber Torres is in the Yankees' lineup as the designated hitter. That's not great for the Orioles.
For the Yankees
DJ LeMahieu 3B
Aaron Judge RF
Didi Gregorius SS
Gleyber Torres DH
Mike Ford 1B
Brett Gardner CF
Austin Romine C
Mike Tauchman LF
Breyvic Valera 2B
Masahiro Tanaka RHP
Update: Austin Romine homered with two outs in the second inning to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.
Update II: Jonathan Villar tripled and scored on Trey Mancini's single to tie the game in the third. Mancini was thrown out at the plate on Anthony Santander's double.
Update III: Former Orioles infielder Breyvic Valera broke the tie with a two-run triple in the fifth and he scored on a fielder's choice grounder and Villar throwing error.
Update IV: Brett Gardner and Mike Tauchman homered off Branden Kline in the sixth for a 6-1 lead.
Update V: Jace Peterson hit a two-run homer off Masahiro Tanaka in the sixth and Villar hit a two-run homer off Tommy Kahnle after Chris Davis' sacrifice fly, and the game is tied.
By accepting you will be accessing a service provided by a third-party external to https://www.masnsports.com/