Orioles return to .500 with huge lift from bottom of order in 6-3 win (updated)

A series lost to close out the first half was followed by last night’s defeat and an early deficit tonight. Baseball’s surprise team was threatening to slip two games below .500. And the question loomed whether it could tap the brakes and avoid a serious crash.

The competitive nature of the Orioles, the non-stop motor, figures to pull them through some of the most difficult stretches. There’s no rest stop until perhaps Cincinnati – if a team that tied for the worst record last year is granted entrance. They must keep going.

Aaron Judge doubled twice, singled and drove in two runs within the first four innings. Gerrit Cole weathered a fifth-inning storm, when the Orioles scored twice with two outs, came back out for the seventh north of 100 pitches and lost the lead after two batters.

This was going to be typical Orioles. Count them out, watch them rally and wait for the final result, knowing it would be close.

The bottom of the order rose to the occasion again, the bullpen did its usual work, and the Orioles defeated the Yankees 6-3 before an announced crowd of 36,361 at Camden Yards, their largest non-opening day gathering since 2018.

Ramón Urías led off the seventh with a double and scored on Jorge Mateo’s second hit, a single into center field that tied the game 3-3. Mateo went first to third on Albert Abreu’s errant pickoff throw, with the home dugout erupting, and he dived across the plate on Cedric Mullins’ fly ball to medium center field.

"As soon as the ball bounced, I immediately thought third base all the way," Mateo said via interpreter Brandon Quinones.

Urías hit his 10th home run with two outs in the eighth after Rougned Odor drew a walk against Shane Greene, clearing the left field wall as he stood at home plate, bat in hand, and watched the ball's flight. Only a triple kept him from the cycle.

"We just stick together," he said. "We fight the whole game and we don't give up, and that's huge for us."

"We have so much confidence, and it starts with this entire team being united," Mateo said. "We constantly pick each other up and we know that when one guy isn't getting it done, the next one will step up and complete the job."

Félix Bautista retired the side in order in the eighth with two strikeouts, Jorge López notched his 18^th save, and the Orioles returned to .500 at 47-47 and moved within a half-game of the fourth-place Red Sox in the American League East.

"These boys are special," said starter Jordan Lyles. "These guys, they're fun to watch. They've been awesome."

Ryan Mountcastle's fielding error to begin the ninth and Judge's line drive single into left field brought the tying run to the plate with no outs. The Yankees did nothing with the opportunity, in part due to defensive replacement Ryan McKenna running down Gleyber Torres' fly ball along the right field line and running it back to the infield.

"Once again, our bullpen, phenomenal," said manager Brandon Hyde. "An unbelievable job. And we got some big hits late."

López's sinker was clocked at 101 mph against Torres. He got a called third strike on Josh Donaldson, pounded his glove and yelled while catcher Adley Rutschman jumped out of his crouch and pumped his fist.

"I'm sure adrenaline kicking in," Hyde said. "This is such a good team. You get the tying run to the plate there, I'm sure he had the adrenaline flowing there. You saw the energy with our guys, you saw the energy with him on the mound. He had great stuff."

Lyles grinded through five innings and 99 pitches, allowing three runs to keep the Orioles close, and they drew within 3-2 in the fifth on Mullins’ RBI single, his 20^th stolen base and Rutschman’s 17^th double in 48 games.

Mateo started the rally in the fifth with a single and his 23^rd steal in 27 tries.

He has a knack for jump-starting this team, whether with his bat, legs or glove.

"The speed factor with Mateo was a difference-maker in tonight's game with a stolen base and the errant pick-off throw," Hyde said. "I told Maso (third base coach Tony Mansolino), 'I don't think you're ever going to get anybody the rest of your career get to you faster to third base. He was flying around the bases.

"He is well past the point of knowing that he can play in this league, and play shortstop in this league. And now his at-bats are piling up and he's making some great adjustments at the plate."

Fifty-five of the Orioles’ games have been decided by one run or two, the most in the majors. Urías gave them a little more breathing room in the eighth.

"The majority of the games we play are like this, win or lose," Hyde said. "We don't have many easy wins and we don't have many losses where we're out of it. We do a nice job of staying in the game and battling back, and it just shows you the fight of the guys in the clubhouse."

Urías is batting .404/.440/.723 with three doubles, four home runs, 16 RBIs and 10 runs scored since July 4.

"Ramón just continues to really swing the bat well," Hyde said. "Showed that sneaky power there in the with a huge, huge tack-on homer, and took really good at-bats besides that."

The Orioles were facing high heat before the first pitch, with the game-time temperature at 97 degrees.

They took batting practice only because of the inactivity during the All-Star break. Otherwise, they would have spent the bulk of the pregame indoors.

Hydrating was highly recommended.

Lyles has been scored upon in the early innings in his last three starts. He allowed one run to the Cubs in the first and one in the second, and two to the Rays in the first, one in the second and three in the third.

The Yankees led 1-0 tonight after two batters. DJ LeMahieu reached on an infield hit and third baseman Urías couldn’t backhand Judge’s scorched grounder past the bag, raising a glove in self-defense on the RBI double.

Matt Carpenter led off the second with his 14^th home run in 34 games, the ball reaching the back of the flag court in right field.

Lyles loaded the bases in the third on another Judge double and back-to-back, two-out walks, but Aaron Hicks flied to left, leaving the veteran at 61 pitches and with one mound visit, but no one warming in the bullpen.

Keegan Akin was up in the fourth after three singles, the last Judge’s blooper that fell in center field with one out, gave New York a 3-0 lead. Bryan Baker entered in the sixth and stranded a runner.

"Keeping the team in the game would be the most polite way of how I pitched tonight," Lyles said. "Being a critic of myself, I didn't pitch well tonight, but hey, the boys are here and we're ready."

Lyles retired his last five batters and left with his ERA at 4.79, just a slight tick up from the 4.76 that he took into the break. He allowed eight hits, walked two and struck out two.

Going back out for the fifth inning required Lyles to convince Hyde that it was a good idea.

"I'm glad I did," Hyde said, "because he had a great fifth inning."

"He wanted to shake my hand and I said, 'No, I'm going back out,'" Lyles said. "I said, 'Hey, if I don't get the first guy, then come and get me.' And then I went 1-2-3. He wasn't as accepting after the 1-2-3 inning to go back out for the sixth."

Mullins singled to begin the bottom of the first inning, got caught in a rundown and was tagged. Trey Mancini walked with two outs, the Yankees went to a four-man outfield and Anthony Santander struck out.

The Orioles put two runners on base in the second inning and Cole escaped the jam when Mateo grounded to third.

Austin Hays had a hustle double with two outs in the sixth, on Cole’s 100^th pitch, but Odor flied out. Urías fielded a ground ball on his knees in the seventh to start a 5-4-3 double play after the first two batters reached against Cionel Pérez, a huge play that propelled the Orioles into their rally in the bottom half.

The Yankees bullpen was weakened last night by Michael King’s season-ending elbow injury. Manager Aaron Boone tried to squeeze a little more out of Cole, who began the seventh at 102 pitches. It didn’t work.

"These boys are fun to watch," Lyles said. "It was a great night, a great win. The fans should be excited. If they came out tonight, that was a good ballgame all the way around. It took a little longer, but that's on my part, pretty much, for the struggles I went through. But man, you need to watch out for the Orioles."

Down on the farm, Kyle Stowers doubled and hit his 16^th home run for Triple-A Norfolk. Matt Harvey, the latest Tides starter shortened in his first start following the break, allowed four runs – including three home runs in the second inning – and struck out five in two frames. Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann followed with two scoreless innings.

Jacob Nottingham hit his 11^th homer.

Double-A Bowie’s Drew Rom tossed five scoreless innings with three hits allowed, no walks and seven strikeouts over 59 pitches. Joey Ortiz had two more hits and an RBI.