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NEW YORK—What happened? Before Wednesday night’s game against the Yankees, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias announced that right-hander Kyle Bradish had Tommy John surgery earlier in the day and left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe had bone chips removed from his left elbow on Tuesday. Bradish’s surgery was season-ending; Elias thinks Coulombe might be able to pitch again in September.
After digesting that news, the Orioles outlasted the New York Yankees, 7-6, in 10 innings.
Cedric Mullins drove in Anthony Santander, the automatic runner, with the go-ahead run in the 10th on a single that dropped into center field. Santander got a good read on the ball and when Yankees centerfielder Alex Verdugo attempted to throw out Santander at the plate, Mullins took second. With Ramón Urías’ at the plate, Mullins broke for third and scored when New York catcher Jose Trevino’s throw went into left field. The Orioles stole four bases.
“I was really happy with how we battled, competed. We gave up the lead and continued to fight offensively,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “It shows a lot about our club. It was a heck of a win.”
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In the bottom of the 10th, the Yankees scored on a sacrifice fly by Ben Rice that required a diving catch by Santander. Catcher Adley Rutschman then made an even bigger play, throwing out pinch-runner Oswaldo Cabrera trying to steal second. After Trevino walked, Oriole reliever Dillon Tate struck out Jahmai Jones for his first save since October 2nd, 2022.
It was a game that seemed more like a heavyweight fight between the top teams in the American League East. The Orioles trail the Yankees by 1 ½ games.
How wild was the 10th inning? Santander made an excellent catch on Rice’s fly, and Rutschman nailed Cabrera with a perfect throw.
“That was the throw of the year right there,” Hyde said. “Big spot. Tate’s not the quickest to the plate. For him to put it right on the money. You don’t want to wrap that thing right up to the top part of the order.
“Amazing play and Santander, who’s playing absolutely his rear end off in every single facet, just a total hustle, great play. He’s playing really good defense this year. Lot of really good things late.”
Mullins’ play is steadily improving after weeks of struggle.
“That’s what he can do when he gets on base,” Hyde said. “There’s a lot of things he can do on the bases.”
Mullins said he’s been diligent about putting in the work to get better .
“That’s basically what my early work is for, to get back to my game plan,” he said. “Being able to create chaos, getting the hits, being able to hit doubles, hit long balls, steal bases, do a little bit of everything.”
Tate, who missed all of last season because of injury, was the sixth reliever used by Hyde, and he recorded a key save.
“Thankful that they trust me to grab the ball in that situation,” he said. “It’s always a team effort every night.”
How did Cade Povich do? In his third major league start, Povich allowed a run on a hit in 4 2/3 innings, walking five.
“Mentally, physically, it might not have all been synced up,” Povich said. “It was one of those where I had to come back mentally. Just grind away.”
“After the first couple [of innings], I didn’t know how long he was going to be able to be out there,” Hyde said. “They weren’t getting many hits. There was a lot of traffic, a lot of three-ball counts, a lot of walks. For him to get in the fifth inning there, was huge for us. It turned out even huger than we thought at the time.
“He did not have his command early. He kind of found it there a little bit in the third or fourth inning. He was huge for us to at least get in the fifth inning.”
“It’s Yankee Stadium,” Povich said. “We’re 1-2 in the division, definitely a lot. Something to take in. A lot of kids grow up dreaming to pitch or play one day at Yankee Stadium. It’s definitely really cool.”
The Orioles had a 4-1 lead when Povich left the game with two outs in the fifth, and extended it to 5-1 in the seventh before Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run home run off Yennier Cano. The Yankees tied it, 5-5, in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI single by Stanton against closer Craig Kimbrel.
“It was a blast,” Povich said. “We’re always going to fight. We’re always going to stay in it until the end … The fight never wavers and guys are always on. We have unbelievable defense, unbelievable lineup. It was awesome to watch.”
What was the reaction to the Bradish and Coulombe news? “Huge loss for us,” Hyde said of Bradish. “Top-of-the-rotation-type of guy. We’re confident he’s going to be like that when he comes back, but it’s going to be a while.
“We’re losing a top-of-the-rotation arm that’s been unbelievable for us the last year-plus, two years. Hopeful it wasn’t going to come to this, but unfortunately it has and we’re going to miss him.”
Hyde has come to depend on Coulombe since the beginning of last season.
“He’s probably going to back with us during the last part of the season,” Hyde said. “He’s been huge for our bullpen. We’re going to miss him, also.”
Povich was able to compartmentalize the news and keep his focus.
“It stinks hearing that,” he said. “Danny in spring training has kind of taken me under his wing, especially here and helped me out a lot. Bradish has electric stuff. I love being able to watch him throw just because it’s that electric, so good. It definitely hurts.”
“It’s tough whenever you lose a member of the team,” Tate said. “Those are valuable guys. They’ll be missed.”
What will Maton bring to the Orioles? Jordan Westburg is day-to-day with left hip discomfort after his collision with Juan Soto on Tuesday night.
The Orioles purchased the contract of infielder Nick Maton from Triple-A Norfolk. Outfielder Kyle Stowers was optioned to Norfolk and right-hander Tyler Wells, who had elbow surgery on Monday, was transferred from the 15-day to 60-day injured list.
Maton was hitless in 23 at-bats during spring training, but he’s hit well for Norfolk with a .294 average, seven home runs and 28 RBIs in 41 games. Because Westburg wasn’t placed on the injured list, Connor Norby couldn’t be recalled because he hadn’t been in the minor leagues for the required 10 days after he was optioned to Norfolk on June 11th.
“I think everyone goes through little stints,” Maton said. “That was mine this spring. It’s kind of good to get it out of the way early and work on stuff down there at Triple-A. I feel good right now. We’ve worked on a lot of stuff.”
What’s the word? “Kyle Bradish is an absolute warrior. He probably didn’t let on what he was pitching through because he loves to compete. He wants the ball. He does not want to come out of the game. He’s a fierce, fierce competitor and he’s as tough as any player I’ve had.”-Hyde on Bradish.
What does it mean? Beating the team that’s leading them in the standings on a day when they learned bad news about key pitchers was important. It will be interesting to see if the Orioles make a move to add another pitcher since both Albert Suárez and Povich failed to complete five innings.
What’s the stat of the day? .354. Ryan O’Hearn, who had two RBI doubles, is batting .354 in June. He’s 17-for-48 with two home runs and eight RBIs.
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Chayce McDermott (2-5) allowed four runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings, walking two and striking out eight in Triple-A Norfolk’s 4-3 loss to Lehigh Valley. Shortstop Anthony Servideo hit his first home run.
Trace Bright (0-7) allowed five runs, three earned, on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings in Double-A Bowie’s 8-6 loss to Altoona. Leftfielder John Rhodes had three hits, including his fifth home run.
Catcher Adam Retzbach drove in both runs for High-A Aberdeen in its 2-1 win over Wilmington. Michael Forret (1-1) struck out eight and allowed one hit in 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Forret, Luis De Leon and Cody Scroggins combined to hold the Blue Rocks to four hits. Centerfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. stole four bases and has 33 this season.
Rightfielder Kevin Guerrero and catcher Cole Urman each drove in two runs in Single-A Delmarva’s 8-5 loss to Fayetteville.
What’s next? Cole Irvin (6-3, 3.03) will face the Yankees’ Luis Gil (9-1, 2.03) in the final game of the three-game series at 4:05 p.m. on Thursday.
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