Orioles begin brutal stretch of games with 9-6 loss (updated)

Soft spots on the schedule are harder to find for a team with the second-worst record in baseball. The Orioles don't enter a series as the favorites. They aren't on equal footing with their lineups or pitching, and that's simply a product of tearing down the roster and beginning a rebuild.

It's just a tougher stretch of highway against certain teams than others, and the 13 games in front of them present the most dangerous curves to navigate.

The Yankees and Astros are passing through town on the current homestand before the Orioles pack up their gear and head to the Bronx and Boston.

With so much already going against the Orioles, they didn't need a crucial call at the plate to sabotage their efforts. They were denied an apparent go-ahead run in the fourth, and the Yankees scored three times in the fifth and twice more in the sixth.

The response from the Orioles is one reason why manager Brandon Hyde is so fond of this team. They scored five runs in the sixth on two-run homers by Jace Peterson and Jonathan Villar sandwiched around Chris Davis' sacrifice fly, but Mike Ford and Mike Tauchman homered off Paul Fry in the eighth to give the Yankees a 9-6 win before an announced crowd of 20,151 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles are 38-74 overall, 17-39 at home and 2-11 against the Yankees. They've lost all eight games in Baltimore.

Villar became the fifth Orioles player to hit for the cycle when he dumped a single into right field off closer Aroldis Chapman. The last was Felix Pie on Aug. 14, 2009. All three at Camden Yards were achieved by Orioles players, including Pie and Aubrey Huff.

Brooks Robinson on July 15, 1960 and Cal Ripken Jr. on May 6, 1984 also hit for the cycle.

Hyde was playing the lefty-versus-lefty card by replacing Mychal Givens with Fry, and Ford pulled the third pitch thrown to him and circled the bases while the reliever stood with hand and glove on hips. Tauchman hit a two-run shot into the bullpen for his second homer of the night and the team's fifth.

The Orioles have surrendered 224 home runs. The 2016 Reds hold the record with 258.

Tonight marked the 15th time that the Orioles allowed at least five homers.

Givens struck out Gleyber Torres to begin the inning, his fourth batter faced. He came out after 18 pitches.

Brett Gardner took Branden Kline deep in the sixth for a 5-1 lead and the Orioles became the first team in major league history to allow multiple home runs in 10 consecutive games. They already set a record by hitting two or more in 10 straight.

Tauchman added a solo shot later in the inning before the Orioles offered their rebuttal.

Peterson's two-run shot into the bullpen off Masahiro Tanaka was his first home run since July 12, 2018 against the Phillies. The Orioles got within 6-4 after Hanser Alberto singled, Chance Sisco doubled and Gardner ran down Davis' drive to deep center for a sacrifice fly. And then they tied it with Villar's homer off Tommy Kahnle, who didn't appreciate the infielder's multiple hops up the line, bat flip and shout toward the dugout.

Austin Romine homered off Gabriel Ynoa in the second inning to stake the Yankees to an early lead. But the Orioles tied the score in the third when Villar tripled and came home on Trey Mancini's single.

Two of the first 12 Orioles outs were recorded at home plate, including Peterson's failed attempt to swipe home on a double steal that ended the fourth. He appeared to be safe, but the call stood after a challenge.

Ynoa returned to the mound after a seven-pitch fourth inning and the Yankees countered with a two-run triple by former Orioles infielder Breyvic Valera after singles by Gardner and Tauchman. DJ LeMahieu grounded to Villar, who made an off-target throw to the plate as the Yankees took a 4-1 lead.

Aaron Judge struck out and Ynoa was done after 4 2/3 innings and 69 pitches, 53 of them for strikes.

The Yankees are banged up and keep rolling along. Tonight was just the latest instance of the Orioles putting themselves in danger by getting in the way. There's more to come.

Hyde isn't looking for pity or excuses. He's interested in finding out how his players will respond. And he'll enjoy the ride.

"The schedule's the schedule," he said. "This is the big-boy league. You're going to face good players, you're going to face good teams. And this is part of it.

"This is August playing against really good teams and there's nothing better than that for me. Take it as a challenge. I want our guys to take it as a challenge. I want our guys to play to win and compete like they've been doing and not back down from anybody and play hard.

"We're playing teams that have improved from the deadline, that are playing for something, and that's a feeling that I can't wait to have in that room in there, is playing for an opportunity to play deep into October. So we have nothing to lose. We're just trying to improve and we're just trying to compete, and these guys are playing for different things than we are right now. I want to match that intensity and not back down from anything."

The view has changed for Hyde following his coaching gig with the Cubs. He's moved to the other side.

"It's different and it's challenging, but there's other ways to look at it," he said. "For me, it's about getting our guys better and improving and continuing to watch our guys develop. Our starting pitching is way different than it was when we started the season, so continuing giving these guys an opportunity, and hopefully, they're taking this opportunity and running with it."

The Orioles anticipated a bullpen game tonight with Ynoa starting, and were set up to cover more innings by recalling Tayler Scott and finding a seat for Miguel Castro, who must be feeling better after a lengthy illness.

Ynoa stranded Judge on third base in the first inning after a one-out double, retiring Torres, the Orioles' tormentor, on a fly ball to center field. But Romine lined a 95 mph sinker into the first row of seats in left field with two outs in the second, the call upheld after a 25-second challenge.

The Orioles tied the game in the third with Villar scoring on Mancini's single. But Mancini was thrown out at the plate - 8-6-2 on the putout - on Anthony Santander's second double.

Santander's double in the first was wasted. Alberto's double in the second was wasted. Peterson drew a leadoff walk in the fourth and ended up on third base after a wild pitch and errant pickoff throw from Romine. Davis walked, the Orioles tried to execute a double steal and Peterson was ruled out.

Hyde vented in the dugout after pushing Mancini into it to avoid an ejection. Mancini had stepped onto the dirt and yelled at umpires who could only relay the decision from New York. But after plate umpire Ed Hickox appeared to botch the call.

Angel Hernandez worked second base and is serving as crew chief. His turn behind the plate is coming.

The Orioles threatened in the fifth after Villar hustled to second base as Judge was slow to field the ball and return it to the infield. A single became a double. But Judge made a diving catch to rob Santander, save a run and end the inning.

With the score tied, Hyde called upon Givens in the seventh for only the fourth time this season, and the right-hander induced a double play ball after walking Judge. He came back out for the eighth, got the strikeout and watched from the dugout as the game unraveled.

As the first of 13 straight in a brutal stretch went against the Orioles.

Update: The Orioles optioned Jimmy Yacabonis after tonight's game. They could bring up a position player on Tuesday.

Yacabonis worked the first inning last night as the opener and tossed a scoreless ninth tonight.

Meanwhile, Villar claims that he had no idea that he hit for the cycle until after it happened.

Hyde on Fry matchup: "Like four of the next five guys were left-handed. Obviously, don't want to throw Mike too long, and he did a great job getting four outs. It sets up perfect for Paul Fry and he just had a tough night."

Hyde on Villar: "He had a great game. I thought, obviously, he did a ton of things offensively, really nice play for the double play. Just played a really nice baseball game. It shows you the tools that he has. He's extremely exciting, and when things are going well he's a game-changer.

"But I just thought it was a really good baseball game. We played our hearts out. Their bullpen was just a little bit better than ours tonight. But I loved our ABs against Tanaka. I loved the fight in our guys. I thought we were right there with them. We just gave up too many homers."

Hyde on Peterson out call at home: "I thought it was joke, to be honest with you. That was pathetic. I'm standing right on the line. It was clear as day to me, and as well as the entire crowd on the replay in the stadium. I just thought it changed the whole momentum of the game at that point, and I thought it was absolutely pathetic."

Hyde on why he tried double steal: "Try to score a run. And we did. New York saw it differently, I guess. Somebody saw something differently. I'm still trying to wait to see what the angle is. I saw about seven. They're not even close."

Hyde on waiting on explanation: "I'm hoping I get a letter saying ... They say the same thing every time, that they have more angles than you and they see things you can't, but I'm standing right there and it was a really terrible decision."

Hyde on Fry again: I wasn't expecting a homer there. So, hey, Paul Fry is going to be there again in that situation for the rest of the year. I like him and (Richard) Bleier both on left-handers. Bleier was down tonight. Castro was down tonight, (Shawn) Armstrong was down tonight. So I set up Mike and Paul to try and keep the score tied and see what happens, and it just didn't happen tonight."

Villar on cycle: "It's unbelievable. That's my first time making a cycle in the major leagues. I never thought I needed one more base hit. I'm disappointed that we lost the game, but I feel happy because that's my first time that I had a cycle."

Villar on whether thinking single: "I wasn't paying attention to that. Everybody doesn't saying anything because when you say something, maybe you miss it, and when I hit a base hit right there, the coach (Arnie Beyeler) at first, he said, 'Congratulations, you hit for the cycle.' Right there I knew I hit for the cycle."

Villar on hustle double: "That's my game right there. He's, like, keeping the ball and I never stopped running. The manager says you need to run all the time. You never know what's going on. On a fly ball you need to run hard. If somebody misses it you can have a double. For that, you see the guy flipping the ball, so I ran to second."

Ynoa (via Ramón Alarcón) on start: "I think I was able to locate my pitches, which was the most important thing for me. And trying to get quick strikes, quick outs, trying to make the less pitches as possible."

Ynoa on Yankees lineup: "You really can't miss your pitches. You have to be 100 percent, you have to trust your stuff and throw with confidence. You know that if you miss your pitches that something bad may happen to you, so you have to really be confident out there."