The Yankees’ offense mustered just three hits to spoil a strong start from Clarke Schmidt as New York fell 3-1 to the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night at The Stadium.
Takeaways
– Schmidt had a very strong start on Thursday, his second in a row. After Anthony Volpe booted a grounder — that was ruled an infield hit — extended the first inning, he gave up back-to-back walks on close pitches that allowed the Orioles to load the bases. Schmidt escaped by getting Austin Hays to pop out to first base and end the 29-pitch inning.
An iffy strike zone ramped up Schmidt’s pitch count early and he could only go five innings. The only blemish was in the fifth when he gave up an RBI single to Anthony Santander — who had three hits against Schmidt — that squeaked underneath Anthony Rizzo‘s glove.
Schmidt’s final line: 5 IP (97 pitches — tied a season high), five hits, one run, two walks and four strikeouts.
– Home plate umpire Edwin Moscoso had an inconsistent strike zone that drew the ire of both teams. Aaron Boone was ejected after the top of the third inning. Boone was shown talking to Moscoso about the strike zone from the dugout before the umpire tossed him, which drew the manager into a fury where the crew chief eventually had to hold him back. It’s the fourth time Boone has been thrown out this season, the most in the majors.
There are strike zones that show Moscoso giving Orioles starter Kyle Gibson strikes where Schmidt was getting balls.
– Despite the strike zone, Gibson was very effective against the Yankees offense. The savvy veteran gave up a leadoff single to Gleyber Torres and wouldn’t allow another hit until the seventh — a Willie Calhoun leadoff single. Even in the innings where Gibson walked batters and the Yankees had something going, he would get out of it with weak contact.
Gibson’s final line: 7 IP (95 pitches), two hits, four walks and three strikeouts.
– The Yankees bullpen did not bounce back after giving up five runs on Wednesday. Nick Ramirez came in the sixth and was ineffective, largely thanks to an error he made on the field. Jimmy Corderowho was in the middle of that eight-run seventh inning on Wednesday, got out of a first and third, one out jam by getting Ryan McKenna to groundout into a 6-6-3 double play.
Cordero would have a fielding error of his own in the seventh pocket Wandy Peralta erased him by getting a 6-6-3 double play from Adley Rutschman. Clay Holmes came in when Peralta’s location left him and served up a two-run double to Hays — that almost cleared the right-field wall — to push the Orioles lead to 3-0.
Here’s how the bullpen performed on Thursday:
-
Ramirez: 0.1 IP, one hit (15 pitches/nine strikes)
-
Cordero: 1 IP, one strikeout (15 pitches/eight strikes)
-
Peralta: 1 IP, two walks, two runs, one strikeout (21 pitches/10 strikes)
-
Holmes: 0.2 IP, one hits, one strikeout (12 pitches/seven strikes)
-
Albert Abreu: 1 IP (10 pitches/seven strikes)
– Boone had a couple of newer faces in the lineup on Thursday. Ben Rortvedt made his second start as a Yankee and hit eighth. He went hitless but drew two walks. Greg Allen made his first start with the Yankees this season in left field and batted ninth. He went 0-for-2.
The top of the Yankees order really had a tough time. The top four spots (Torres, Aaron JudgeRizzo and Harrison Bader) went a combined 1-for-14 with two walks. The only hit came from Torres who finished 1-for-4. In 75 games against the Orioles in his career, Torres now has 85 hits, the most against any team.
The lone Yankee run came with two outs in the ninth inning. Calhoun picked up a double, his second hit of the game, to score Judge from second who walked to lead off the inning. Volpe came up as the tying run, but flew out to centerfield. Volpe went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
What’s Next
The Yankees welcome the San Diego Padres to The Bronx for the first of a three-game series on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm at The Stadium.
Newly activated RHP Randy Vasquez will make his MLB debut against RHP Joe Musgrove (1-2, 6.75 ERA).