The Orioles overcame another big night from Aaron Judge and a dust up at second base for a 5-4 win over the New York Yankees.
The Orioles took a beating Tuesday with Kyle Gibson on the mound, but Baltimore entered tonight’s game with an opportunity to still take the series. The Birds flushed the blowout loss, overcame an early deficit, and showed plenty of fight in the rubber match against the Yankees.
Ryan Mountcastle delivered a two-run homer, Ramón Urías cleared the fence, and the bullpen backed up Cade Povich. Félix Bautista protected a one-run lead for the second time, and the Orioles held on for a 5-4 victory over the Yankees.
Oh yeah, the benches cleared too.
The fireworks came with the Orioles leading 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth. Heston Kjerstad led off the frame with a single to right, and he broke for second after Ramón Urías worked the count full. Urías chased a pitch low in the zone, but Yankee catcher Austin Wells sailed his throw to second.
New York second baseman Pablo Reyes jumped in an attempt to secure the ball, but he landed with Kjerstad’s head between his legs. The ball trickled away as Reyes landed. Reyes, either in an effort to catch his balance or fake a tag, placed his glove hand on Kjerstad’s back. Kjerstad popped up and took issue with what the MASN booth repeatedly described as a “push.”
Kjerstad may have had his feelings heightened after the Yankees fired a fastball at his head last season, and nobody could blame him for that. The benches cleared during a high-tempered moment last July, and the players stormed out of the dugout again tonight.
Jorge Mateo made a beeline to second and arrived first on the scene. Baltimore’s bullpen sprinted onto the field and reached the focal point far quicker than the average courtesy jog. Cooler heads eventually prevailed, and both teams returned to their benches without a punch or ejection.
Both Kjerstad and Brandon Hyde downplayed the moment after the game.
The Orioles could have used a zero in the first inning from Cade Povich, but the 25-year-old struggled early. Povich surrendered a one-out single to Trent Grisham before making a mistake to Aaron Judge. Povich hung a sweeper, and Judge launched it 426 feet from home plate. He managed to record one out before allowing a home run, but the blast still elicited a “here we go again” type of sigh.
Povich may have failed his first test, but the lefty bounced back in a hurry. He struck out Ben Rice before retiring Anthony Volpe to end the inning, and he rattled off zeros over the next three frames.
Baltimore’s offense did not allow the early deficit to change its approach. Jackson Holliday muscled a leadoff single to center, and Mountcastle delivered his best swing of 2025. Mountcastle kept his hands in on a 1-0 slider and launched it 395 feet over the wall in left field.
Mountcastle snapped an 0-for-18 slump as he evened the score, and the Orioles broke the tie in a hurry. Kjerstad went down swinging for the first out, but Urías grabbed the lead with one swing of the bat. Urías squared up a middle-middle fastball and sent it over the left field fence for the 3-2 advantage.
The Birds kept their foot on the gas as Gunnar Henderson sent a base hit to center field. He moved into scoring position with a stolen base, and the extra 90 feet made the difference once Adley Rutschman ripped a ball to right-center. Henderson scored easily, and the Birds doubled up the Yanks 4-2.
Povich returned to the mound in the top of the fifth and quickly retired nine-hitter Oswald Peraza. Hyde allowed Povich to face the lineup for a third time, and the Yankees took advantage. Paul Goldschmidt trimmed the lead to one with a solo homer to center.
Baltimore added a key insurance run after loading the bases in the fifth. Rutschman and O’Hearn both took walks, and Volpe booted a grounder from Ramón Laureano to fill the bags. Holliday trickled a slow roller to second base, and the Birds found their fifth run of the game.
Reliever Tim Hill shutdown the potential for a big inning by striking out Mountcastle and retiring Kjerstad to end the frame.
Keegan Akin allowed a pair of base runners but struck out the side in the sixth. He returned in the seventh and issued a leadoff walk to Peraza. Yennier Cano entered, and Peraza advanced to second on a ground out. Grisham gave a ball a ride to left field, but Laureano made a sliding basket catch to record the second out.
Laureano saved a run with his second impressive play in the field, but Peraza tagged up and advanced to third. Cano grooved a 2-0 sinker to Judge, and the slugger made the O’s pay for the leadoff walk. He plated Peraza with a base hit to left field.
A day after pitching in a double-digit defeat, Bryan Baker entered with the O’s clinging to a one-run lead in the eighth. Baker walked Volpe, retired Wells, and showed plenty of emotion as he struck out Bellinger and Jasson Domínguez.
Baltimore snuck a runner into scoring position in the eighth, but Cedric Mullins went down swinging. The Mountain took the mound with only one batter needing to reach to bring Judge to the plate.
Peraza fouled out on the first pitch he saw, and Bautista generated a harmless grounder from Goldschmidt. Bautista needed only three pitches for the final out against Grisham. His final pitch reached 99 MPH.
The Orioles can carry some positive momentum into an off day tomorrow. At 12-18, they trail the Yankees by 5.5 games.