For two years, it seemed the Yankees could always find a way to beat the Orioles in The Bronx.
And Wednesday, it appeared just a matter of time before the Yankees made it 13 in a row at home versus Baltimore.
But a costly error by Gleyber Torres, a bloop hit allowed by Chad Green and a nice throw from right field by Anthony Santander added up to a 4-3, 11-inning Yankees loss.
Chance Sisco’s flare single to left off Green in the 11th scored automatic runner Rio Ruiz from third to put the Orioles ahead for good.
Brett Gardner bunted Gio Urshela to third in the bottom of the 11th before DJ LeMahieu, with one out, lofted a fly ball to shallow right. Urshela tried to score, but was thrown out by Santander.
In the previous inning, Green had seemingly escaped trouble when he got Pedro Severino to ground to Torres with Santander at third and two out. But Torres made another poor play and bounced the throw to Jay Bruce at first. Bruce couldn’t pick it, and Santander scored the go-ahead run on the error.
Before the game, manager Aaron Boone defended Torres’ performance on defense after the shortstop had made another misplay on Tuesday.
Torres was bailed out in the bottom of the 10th inning, when Kyle Higashioka singled to right and pinch-runner Tyler Wade raced home with the tying run, but the Yankees weren’t able to score in the 11th.
They had trailed by a run heading into the bottom of the eighth, having left nine runners on despite hitting the ball hard throughout the night.
But with two out and no one on, Gary Sanchez singled on a liner to left and the ball was misplayed by Ryan Mountcastle.
Sanchez was replaced by pinch runner Mike Tauchman. That move immediately paid off when Urshela doubled to left-center and Tauchman raced home, just under the tag of Pedro Severino at the plate.
It tied the game at 2-2, and Gardner followed with an infield hit, sending Urshela to third, but LeMahieu grounded out to end the inning.
Aroldis Chapman came on to start the ninth after Nick Nelson, Darren O’Day and Jonathan Loaisiga had combined for 3 ¹/₃ scoreless innings in relief.
Chapman struck out the side in order.
The bullpen shined in relief of Jameson Taillon, who made his first start in nearly two years, coming back from a second Tommy John surgery. He was excellent to start the game, retiring the first nine batters he faced, while the Yankees consistently threatened against Baltimore lefty John Means.
In the bottom of the first, Torres drew a one-out walk and moved to third on Giancarlo Stanton’s hard hit single to center, but Clint Frazier lined out to center for the final out, after LeMahieu and Aaron Hicks had done the same earlier in the inning.
They broke through in the third.
Gardner opened with a single through the right side, and LeMahieu followed with a liner up the middle, giving the Yankees runners on first and second with no one out. After Torres whiffed, the struggling Hicks delivered another hit up the middle, driving home Gardner for the game’s first run. The rally ended when Stanton grounded into a double play.
The Orioles tied the game soon after, as Cedric Mullins led off the fourth with a long homer into the right-field bleachers. He was the first batter to reach against Taillon, who then struck out Trey Mancini for the first out. But Santander followed and took Taillon deep again, this time into the Yankees’ bullpen in right-center to give Baltimore a 2-1 lead.
Taillon was pulled with two outs in the fifth, replaced by Nelson. Taillon allowed two runs and struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter.
The Yankees tried to get Taillon off the hook in the bottom of the fifth, with singles by Torres and Stanton — this one measured at 115 mph — off Means, but former Yankees prospect Dillon Tate got Frazier to ground out to end the threat.
In the sixth, Sanchez doubled down the left-field line with one out and moved to third on Urshela’s fly ball to center, but was stranded when Gardner struck out.
LeMahieu started the seventh with a hit, but Torres flied to right and Hicks and Stanton whiffed, with Stanton hearing it from the small crowd.
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