Orioles lose thrilling opening game against Yankees 4-2

NEW YORK – The highly anticipated opener of the series between the Orioles and the Yankees exceeded all expectations in terms of intensity.

Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg and Yankees hitter Aaron Judge both left Tuesday night’s game due to injuries caused by opposing players doing things to them. Juan Soto oddly ran into Westburg as the third baseman caught a ground ball, while Albert Suárez hit Judge in the hand with a pitch.

Gleyber Torres of the Yankees was also hit in the hand by a pitch and shortly thereafter a high fastball from Nestor Cortes narrowly hit Gunnar Henderson’s chin, which sparked the loudest cheers from the 47,429 spectators in the sold-out stadium.

Fear was at a seasonal high, but the quality of baseball was not – at least not for the Orioles.

Suárez came back from his worst start of the season, needing eight innings to knock Baltimore’s bats off the field in the Orioles’ 4-2 loss to the Yankees. With the win, New York moved 2 1/2 games ahead of Baltimore at the top of the American League East.

The 34-year-old Orioles migrant had allowed just three runs in his last 25 innings entering Tuesday, most of them as a starting pitcher, but the Yankees inflicted that many on him in just 3 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, Yankees left-hander Cortes lowered his ERA against Baltimore to 2.20 with six shutout innings while the Orioles didn’t give up a hit in five at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Anthony Santander’s two-run homer in the ninth inning provided a glimmer of hope, but closer Clay Holmes then made everything clear and sealed the deal.

Baltimore is 47-25 and in danger of losing its first AL East series in over a year. The streak of 21 consecutive division games without a series loss is the longest in MLB history since divisions were introduced in 1969.

Including Tuesday, the Orioles are 47-23 against the AL East during the series, including 17-7 this year. The last time Baltimore lost an AL East series was in early April 2023 against New York (51-24).

When the Orioles and Yankees last faced off seven weeks ago, New York held a one-game lead over Baltimore in a division that was considered the most competitive in baseball. The AL East is still a beast, but not in the way that was expected. The Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays already appear to be out of the race for the division crown, as all three have hovered around the .500 estimate for most of the spring.

Instead, the Orioles and Yankees are locked in a fierce battle for the title, with Baltimore attempting to defend its division title for the first time since 1973-74, while New York is looking to win the title for the second time in three years.

When that first series ended in early May after the Orioles had won three of four games, Baltimore was one game ahead of New York and went 27-13 over the next 40 games, second in MLB during that span. But the Orioles lost ground in the division race while the Yankees emerged as perhaps the best team in baseball, going 30-11 during that span.