After falling behind 5-0 in the 1st, the Orioles put together one heluva a gritty effort in what would ultimately become an 8-7 12th inning victory. This five hour thriller featured impressive work from the bullpen, whom were asked to bail out starter Mike Wright after he failed to complete the first. After a slow start, the bats put together a nice comeback performance as well with Craig Gentry delivering the key go-ahead RBI single in the 12th.
Player of Game:
- Anthony Santander hit his first big league home run today and it came at a key moment. His two-run blast in the 7th gave the Orioles a 7-6 lead at the time. Santander finished 3-for-6 with 3 RBI and made a nice catch at the wall in right defensively.
Starting Pitching:
- Mike Wright put the Orioles in an early 5-0 hole and was pulled with two outs in the 1st. Part of the problem was a costly throwing error Wright made on a grounder back to him. His errant throw on an attempt to get a force out at second caused Manny Machado to take his foot off the base to catch the throw. The floodgates opened after that. Final Line: 0.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 ER, BB, K, No Decision.
Highlighted hitting moments:
- Anthony Santander got the scoring started with an RBI singled in the 2nd.
- Tim Beckham added an RBI singled in the 3rd.
- Danny Valencia hit a two run blast in the 5th to chase starter Jordan Montgomery from the game. That’s his first of the year and it cut the Yankee lead to 5-4.
- Manny Machado had a 2-for-6 day and drove in a run in the 6th.
- Craig Gentry is a close runner up for player of the game in this one. He finished 3-for-6 at the plate and stole two bases. In the top of the 12th with two outs, he had one of grittiest at bats you’ll see to keep the innings alive. After fouling off what felt like 10 pitches and working the count 3-2, Gentry grounded a single into left field to score Pedro Alvarez and deliver the winning run.
Highlighted pitching moments:
- Pedro Araujo stepped up today and stopped the bleeding from the first. He looked sharp and wiffed five Yankee batters.
- Richard Bleier had a gritty outing to keep the Orioles alive. He delivered three outstanding innings of work and picked up a much deserved win.
- Brad Brach walked some kind of tightrope in the 12th. Two walks and a fielding error on himself loaded the bases with no outs for Aaron Judge. Can’t draw up a worse scenario. And yet, by some act of God, Brach escaped the inning without a run scoring to pick of the save. Judge grounded into a double play with a force out at home and third. Then Brach struck out Giancarlo Stanton to end it. Stanton finished 0-for-6 at the plate and was booed all game.
Highlighted fielding moments:
- Anthony Santander tracked a fly ball from Neil Walker all the way to the warning track and made a nice leaping catch at the wall.
- Craig Gentry made a stellar diving catch in the 10th which kept the game alive by preventing the game winning run on second from scoring.
- Caleb Joseph made a headsy play in the 12th, throwing down to third to get the force out after Brach got the force out at home.
