O’s cough up 5-run lead, fall to Yanks
Solid offense goes to waste as bullpen’s woes continue with Givens’ sorry outing
It is becoming an all-too-familiar story. The Orioles finally put together a solid offensive performance and take what might be a commanding lead with any other bullpen.
Instead, it just sets them up for another frustrating loss, and one made more discouraging by the growing chorus on “Let’s Go Yankees!” in their own ballpark.
The Orioles wasted a third straight quality start by Andrew Cashner when the Yankees scored in each of the last four innings to open the four-game series at Camden Yards with a 10-7 victory before an announced crowd of 16,457.
The O’s hammered left-hander J.A. Happ for six runs over 3 2/3 innings, only to see the game slip away when Mychal Givens could not hold on to what was left of that lead after entering the game with the Orioles up two with two outs in the eighth inning.
He allowed a home run to Gleyber Torres on his first pitch of the game and allowed back-to-back singles to open the ninth to set up a game-tying sacrifice fly and a three-run homer to Gary Sánchez.
The game-breaking home run was made more galling by the fact that the inning would have ended with the score tied if catcher Pedro Severino had not lost sight of a pop foul by Luke Voit and allowed it to land harmlessly a few feet behind the plate. Voit would draw a walk and Sánchez would fall behind in the count before hitting a line drive into the left-field bleachers.
It doesn’t get much more deflating than that. The Orioles had come home from a dismal weekend in Cleveland during which the offense had managed just a run on six hits over the final two games of the four-game series.
They broke right out of that funk in the early innings Monday night and rolled up13 hits — including four by substitute leadoff hitter Hanser Alberto. Eight of those hits were for extra bases.
Alberto was a triple away from hitting for the cycle after the fourth inning. Hehad two more chances, but had to settle for a career-high four-hit performance that included his third home run of the season.
He was in the leadoff spot because he entered the game with a .385 average against left-handed pitching that ranked third in the major leagues, but he also entered the game with just four hits in his previous 34 at-bats.
It is only May and it was Happ’s fourth — and worst — appearance against the Orioles. He lasted just 3 2/3 innings and allowed six runs on nine hits to drop his record to 3-4 and raise his ERA to 5.16.
Cashner was about to improve his record to 5-2 after the Orioles scored just a run in each of his previous two quality starts, but he allowed two runs in his final inning and the bullpen — once again — could not hold things together.
The ninth-inning homer by Sanchez was his 13th of the year. The eighth-inning homer by Torres was his second of the game and 10th of the year.
Torres has an interesting power profile this season. Eight of his 10 homers have come against the Orioles.
The Yankees didn’t have any trouble keeping the O’s quiet during their comeback. Zack Britton pitched a scoreless eighth to get the victory. Aroldis Chapman allowed the tying run to come to the plate in the ninth, but got each of the final three outs by strikeout to get his 12th save.