Yankees shut down by Trevor Rogers in wasteful loss to Orioles
Left-hander Trevor Rogers limited New York to one hit across six innings as Baltimore built a 3-0 lead in a game the Yankees could not fully overcome; Jazz Chisholm Jr. later joined the 30-30 club, but the comeback fell short.
BALTIMORE — Trevor Rogers shut down the Yankees for six innings as the Orioles pulled away late, beating New York 4-2 Friday night at Camden Yards. The loss leaves the Yankees three games behind the Blue Jays in the AL East with eight games remaining, while keeping them atop the AL wild-card race, two games ahead of the next challenger and in line for a potential tiebreaker scenario depending on Toronto’s result.
Rogers entered the night with a 1.43 ERA across 16 starts for Baltimore, having yielded just 66 hits in 100 2/3 innings. The Yankees managed only a single hit before Austin Wells lined a ball to left to lead off the sixth, their first hit off Rogers. Left fielder Dylan Beavers followed with back-to-back highlight plays, first racing back for a leaping grab to deny extra bases on Paul Goldschmidt’s drive and then making a diving catch on Aaron Judge’s sinking liner, robbing New York of a potential early spark. The Orioles carried a 1-0 lead into the bottom half of the sixth, aided by two costly defensive plays that opened the door for a bigger inning.
In that sixth, a broken-bat Westburg comebacker off Will Warren appeared to alter its spin and deflect through Warren’s legs for an error, putting runners on second and third. Gunnar Henderson then hit a high chopper to the left side that Dylan Chisholm charged and attempted to flip to first, but the throw eluded Goldschmidt, allowing both runners to score on a sacrifice fly and a fielder’s choice to push Baltimore’s advantage to 3-0.
The Yankees finally got to Rogers in the seventh when Jazz Chisholm Jr. launched a two-run homer to left, pulling New York within 3-2 and placing Chisholm in elite company by joining Alfonso Soriano and Bobby Bonds as the only Yankees to post at least 30 home runs and 30 steals in a season. Baltimore answered in the bottom half of the inning, as Henderson smacked an RBI double off Tim Hill to restore a two-run cushion.
New York mounted a mini-rally in the eighth, loading the bases with one out, but Rico Garcia retired Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton on groundouts to escape further damage. The Yankees also threatened late in the frame, but Warren was steadier the second time through, finishing with five and a third innings pitched and three runs allowed, one earned. The only earned run against him came in the second when Ryan Mountcastle belted a 422-foot homer.
Despite the loss, New York remains the heavy favorite to hold the top AL wild-card berth, with the Jays’ status unsettled in their late game against Kansas City and Seattle and Houston still contending for the division lead. The result kept New York three games behind Toronto in the division race, with eight games left on the schedule, while also maintaining a buffer in the wild-card standings pending the other late-night results.
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