On a 90-degree day, the Orioles improved to 5-2 against the Yankees and have now gone unbeaten in 22 straight series against American League East opponents, a major league record. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles surpassed the mark set by the Atlanta Braves (1998-2000) and Cincinnati Reds (1975, 1969-1970).
The 17 runs also marked rare success for the Orioles against the Yankees. It was their second most in a road game against New York and tied for the third most overall, according to ESPN Stats & Information. They scored 18 in a nine-win run in the Bronx in June 1986.
“Really proud of how our guys went in this series. The way we came out and swung the bats today, that was incredible,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “So many hard-hit balls there early, just really, really good at-bats.”
Baltimore also improved to 19-7 against the AL East this season and 51-27 since the start of last season.
“I don’t know what kind of statement we’re making,” Hyde said. “I know teams think we’re a good team, and our record shows it and the way we’ve been playing against our division and how we’ve been playing baseball in the last couple of years.”
Henderson doubled twice among his three hits to extend the majors’ longest active on-base streak to 27 games and his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games. He also added an RBI groundout in the sixth.
Ryan Mountcastle had a bases-clearing double and an RBI single in the ninth off New York catcher Jose Trevino. Anthony Santander hit a three-run homer for his MLB-best 10th home run this month as the Orioles moved to within a half-game of first-place New York.
Ryan O’Hearn added an RBI double and drove in four runs, while Austin Hays hit a two-run homer in the seventh as the Orioles collected 19 hits and scored their most runs since an 18-5 win at Cleveland on June 6, 2021.
“I’m really proud of our guys not buying into too much that comes from outside noise and things like that,” O’Hearn said.
Gleyber Torres hit a solo home run before exiting with a groin injury and Aaron Judgehit his major league-leading 27th homer by lining a two-run shot in the third off Baltimore starter Cole Irvin. Judge also had an RBI single in his return from a one-game absence after getting hit on the left hand in New York’s 4-2 win Tuesday.
But the Yankees lost back-to-back series for the first time this season.
“They’re about as formidable as there is, and the first couple of series, they’ve had their way with us,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “They’ve had the upper hand.”
Irvin allowed five runs and five hits in 4⅔ innings. Bryan Baker (1-0) relieved him and was credited with the win.
Gil allowed seven runs and eight hits in a career-low 1⅓ innings.
“They got after him today and didn’t miss some heaters in the center of the plate,” Boone said. “That’s been uncommon.”
Henderson opened the game with a double over right fielder Juan Soto‘s head and scored on O’Hearn’s two-strike single. Mullins blasted a slider into the right field seats for a 3-0 lead, and Mountcastle chopped a double past third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera down the left field line to make it 6-0.
After Torres and Judge connected, Santander went deep in the fifth off Tim Hill, who signed with the Yankees before the game.
Gil’s short outing ended New York’s streak of 76 straight starts of at least four innings to start the season. It was the seventh-longest streak in baseball and the longest in the American League since the Chicago White Sox did it in the first 89 games of 2006.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: OF Colton Cowser did not start after being plunked on the elbow pad Wednesday. … 3B Jordan Westburg went 2-for-5 after sitting out Wednesday because of left hip discomfort.
Yankees: OF Jasson Domínguez will miss at least eight weeks with a strained left oblique. He was injured on a check swing during a game for Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes/Barre on Saturday.
The Giants are sending starter Jordan Hicks and 23-year-old lefty Kyle Harrison, among others, to Boston in exchange, sources said.
Devers, 28, is in just the second season of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract he signed to stay in Boston in January 2023, however his relationship with the team suffered a significant blow after the star third baseman was reportedly blindsided by a move to designated hitter in the spring.
Tensions flared again last month after Devers refused an offer from the team to move him to first base after starting first baseman Triston Casas was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.
It reached a point where Red Sox owner John Henry met with the disgruntled star, making a rare trip to meet the team on the road and smooth things over after Devers’ pointed comments about the request to switch positions again.
Hicks and Harrison give a pitching-starved Red Sox team more depth on their staff while Devers provides a huge boost to a middling Giants offense.
Devers has more than 200 career home runs to his name and has a .894 OPS for Boston this season.
Manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday that Ohtani would throw another simulated game in the coming days that could “potentially” be his last one, and a source told ESPN’s Buster Olney that Ohtani should join the Dodgers’ rotation “sooner rather than later,” potentially within the week.
Ohtani took a big step forward during his most recent simulated game at Petco Park on Tuesday, throwing 44 pitches over the course of three innings against a couple of lower-level minor league players. Ohtani’s fastball reached the mid- to upper-90s, and he exhibited good command of his off-speed pitches in what amounted to his third time facing hitters. Afterward, Roberts said there was a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could join the rotation before the All-Star break.
Because of his two-way designation, the Dodgers can carry Ohtani as an extra pitcher, which means he can throw two to three innings and have someone pitch after him as a piggyback starter. At this point, it seems that is the Dodgers’ plan.
The Dodgers’ pitching staff has again been plagued by injury, with 14 pitchers on the injured list, including four starting pitchers the team was heavily counting on for 2025 — Blake Snell, Tony Gonsolin, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow.
If Ohtani returns in July — the likely outcome at this point — he will be 22 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament.
The update isn’t as optimistic for Sasaki. He paused his throwing program and is set for a lengthy layoff. Sasaki has not pitched in a game since May 9 and is not part of the team’s long-term pitching plans this season.
“I think that’s what the mindset should be,” Roberts said. “Being thrust into this environment certainly was a big undertaking for him, and now you layer in the health part and the fact he’s a starting pitcher, knowing what the build-up [required to return] entails … I think that’s the prudent way to go about it.”
Sasaki, 23, went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts after joining the Dodgers from the Pacific League’s Chuba Lotte Marines, averaging less than 4⅓ innings per start. He walked 22 and struck out 24 in 34⅓ innings, and his fastball averaged 95.7 mph, down 3-4 mph from his average in Japan.
Roberts said Sasaki was pain free when he resumed throwing in early June, but the pitcher was shut down after feeling discomfort this past week. Sasaki recently received a cortisone injection in the shoulder; Roberts said no further scans are planned.
“I don’t think it’s pain,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if it’s discomfort, if it’s tightness, if he’s just not feeling strong, whatever the adjective you want to use. That’s more of a question for Roki, as far as the sensation he’s feeling.
“He’s just not feeling like he can ramp it up, and we’re not going to push him to do something he doesn’t feel good about right now.”
BOSTON — Aaron Judge blamed himself for swinging at pitches outside the strike zone as the New York Yankees were swept in a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.
“You got to swing at strikes,” Judge said after going 1-for-12 in the series, which Boston completed with a 2-0 victory on Sunday.
Judge struck out three or more times in three straight games for only the third time in his major league career.
“That usually helps any hitter when you swing at strikes,” Judge added. “Definitely some pitches off the edge or off the edge in, you know, taking some hacks just trying to make something happen.”
Judge had a tying solo homer in the opener Friday night but struck out nine times as the Yankees were swept in a series for the first time this season.
New York scored only four runs in the three games, matching its fewest in a three-game series at Fenway Park, on June 20-22, 1916 and on Sept. 28-30, 1922.
“It’s very hard,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of facing Judge. “He’s so good at what he does. We used our fastballs in the right spots, we got some swing and misses.”
“Throughout the years we’ve been aggressive with him,” Cora added. “Sometimes he gets us, sometimes we do a good job with that. It’s always fun to compete against the best, and, to me, he’s the best in the business right now.”
Judge’s major league-leading average dipped to .378.
“I don’t think much of it,” teammate Ben Rice said. “If I could have that guy hitting every single at-bat even if he’s not at his best, I would do it. I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He’ll be all right.”
Judge faced Garrett Whitlock with two on in the eighth Sunday and bounced into an inning-ending double play.
“He’s one of the greatest hitters in the world,” Whitlock said. “It’s special to watch him play and everything. We tried to execute and had some execution this weekend.”