Zimmermann big in bulk role and Orioles win 10-6 (updated)

The sound of the first part of the plan backfiring was almost as loud as the contact made by the Yankees again this afternoon.

Adam Plutko lasted one turbulent inning as the opener after the Yankees loaded the bases with no outs for the second time in less than 24 hours.

Gary Sánchez and Clint Frazier hit back-to-back home runs. Bruce Zimmermann warmed in the bullpen. Assistant pitching coach Darren Holmes visited the mound. There wouldn't be a clean handoff of the baton.

It wouldn't matter.

Plutko allowed four runs, but the Orioles made their own noise by rallying to take the lead and Zimmermann as bulk reliever couldn't have gone much smoother. The second part of the plan, which prompted Zimmermann's recall this morning, played out splendidly.

Zimmermann held the Yankees to one run over 5 2/3 innings, retiring 17 of 20 batters, Ryan Mountcastle had a career-high four RBIs, Maikel Franco busted out of his slump and the Orioles avoided the sweep with a 10-6 victory before an announced sellout crowd of 11,070 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles head into the off-day in a better mood and with a better record at 17-23 overall and 6-15 at home. A loss today would have been their eighth in nine games.

Cedric Mullins and Trey Mancini doubled off reliever Michael King in the fourth inning to give the Orioles a 6-5 lead. Mancini leads the club with 32 RBIs and has 15 this month. And he should have reached base for a fourth time in the seventh inning, but Frazier robbed him with a diving catch in right field.

Franco was 4-for-52 entering today. He singled, had an RBI double and hit a two-run homer off reliever Wandy Peralta in the eighth. His first homer since April 25 and first multi-hit game since April 27.

Mountcastle capped his stellar day with a bases-loaded, two-run single off Luis Cessa with two outs in the eighth.

Paul Fry inherited two runners from Tanner Scott with no outs in the top of the eighth and maintained the margin. César Valdez struggled again in the ninth, allowing a run on three singles.

Zimmermann earned his first win in Baltimore in his first appearance with the Orioles since May 2, coming up big in a bulk role. He retired the side in order on nine pitches in the second after Plutko threw 24 in the first and didn't let up until manager Brandon Hyde took the ball out of his hand.

Keegan Akin impressed last night in relief and Zimmermann took his turn today. Positives mined from a difficult weekend series.

The development of young pitching prospects is essential to the rebuild. There can't be too much focus on it.

Zimmermann said in his Zoom call that the break he received after his option on May 3 "definitely helped." He worked three innings on May 8 and waited to be recalled.

"It gave me time to kind of step back and really identify some things that I wanted to focus on to do better here, but obviously work on down there," he said. "I think it was great to just get down there and work on those things. Also knowing I was hopefully coming back up to help the team, just getting those innings in down there, some side work down there, specifically targeting some things, was definitely a benefit.

"It was kind of established beforehand that as the idea to kind of get through the top of the lineup once so I'd hopefully only have to face them twice. It didn't really change my mindset. I was coming in and I was prepared to kind of go the starter amount of innings and just get back to bearing down on the zone. Definitely don't have an issue with that. It was kind of nice to come in and just go at them right away. An interesting approach and I'm all for it if we have to do it again."

Of course, Aaron Judge needed to hit a home run to keep the earth spinning on its axis. He crushed a Zimmermann changeup with one out in the third inning, the ball traveling 443 feet with a 114.7 mph exit velocity. Seven of his 12 homers this season have come against the Orioles.

The combined distance of the three Yankees home runs in three innings was 1,296 feet. The math was as daunting as facing Judge.

Zimmermann handled him in the rematch, retiring Judge on a ground ball to end the fifth and strand DJ LeMahieu. The Baltimore native's pitch count was 58 and the 'pen was quiet.

The sixth inning was a breeze with a ground ball, fly ball and changeup that froze Frazier for the final out. All of it required 13 pitches. Tyler Wade beat the shift with a two-out single in the seventh and Scott entered the game.

LeMahieu struck out to leave Zimmermann with one run on his line, along with two hits, one walk and six strikeouts. He threw 84 pitches, with a slight tick in velocity.

"I saw 94 there his last couple innings," Hyde said in his Zoom call. "I thought the velo ticked up a little bit today from his previous few starts with us. Shows how maybe a little bit of a rest did some good there. He stayed strong throughout that outing with a really good outing. I liked the way he threw in to all their right-handers, kept them honest and had good off-speed stuff. So just a great 5 2/3 from him. Really pitched well."

Zimmermann was told Thursday that he'd rejoin the Orioles today, with a chance to get back in the rotation later.

"I kind of knew I was coming back to start at some point," he said, "whether it was the Yankees or more likely the Tampa series."

Plutko the reliever has been excellent with three runs surrendered in 21 1/3 innings. As the opener today, he walked LeMahieu, gave up a single to Luke Voit on a blistering ground ball that took a violent hop past shortstop Freddy Galvis and allowed a single to Judge.

Instant trouble. Except Plutko came close to escaping with minimal damage when Franco backhanded Gio Urshela's grounder, stepped on the bag and threw to first for the double play - eschewing a possible play at the plate.

Sánchez followed with a 435-foot shot to left, admiring his work before tossing the bat. Exit velo was 112.3 mph. Frazier launched a fastball 418 feet at 105.6 mph and the Yankees were partying.

The Orioles kept trying to crash it. They scored twice against left-hander Jordan Montgomery in the first inning on a two-out walk to Mancini, Mountcastle's RBI double on a fly ball that fell inside the right field line and Pedro Severino's single.

Austin Hays led off the third with a double, advanced on wild pitch and scored on Mountcastle's sacrifice fly. Franco doubled to right and the lead was down to 5-4. Galvis singled and it was gone.

Montgomery shut out the Orioles over six innings in his first start. He was the same pitcher today in name only and fortunate that the game stayed tied in the third after Pat Valaika flied to the fence in left field.

"I thought today was our best offensive approach that we've had maybe since the beginning of the season, maybe all year," Hyde said. "The majority of our damage was done up the middle, the other way. ... You saw a lot of guys staying on the ball better. Mancini with some big walks and then drive two balls to the opposite field, Mountcastle snorkeled that slider in his last at-bat to be able to stay on the baseball. So would love to keep that approach going forward and hope guys can buy in because that was a nice team offensive philosophy today of staying on the baseball."

Down on the farm, Anthony Santander hit a two-run homer at Double-A Bowie. He's nearing protocol procedure and activation from the injured list.