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September 17, 2021

Schadenfreude 318 (A Continuing Series)

Yankees - 020 000 000 0 - 2   7  0
Orioles - 000 001 001 1 - 3  10  0

AL WC

Blue Jays  82-64  ---
Red Sox    83-65  ---
Yankees    82-65  0.5
Athletics  79-67  3.0
Mariners   78-68  4.0

Kristie Ackert, Daily News:

No one said it was going to come easy for this Yankees team, but no one imagined a loss this hard. The Bombers were just one strike away from escaping Camden Yards with a sweep when it absolutely fell apart. Clay Holmes coughed up the one-run lead on two wild pitches in the ninth and then Wandy Peralta gave up an RBI-single to Austin Hays in extras as the Orioles rallied for a 3-2 win, 10-inning upset of the Bombers at Camden Yards.

"I thought Clay threw the ball well . . .", Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. . . .

The loss . . . was a blow to their playoff hopes. They are now half a game behind the Red Sox and Blue Jays in the American League wild card race and currently out of a playoff spot. With 15 games to go . . . the road gets tougher with nine games to end the season against the Red Sox, Blue Jays and American League East-leading Rays.

At least the Yankees are done with the Orioles, finishing the season series 11-8. . . . Baltimore has no more than four wins against any other team this season. . . .

Holmes could not work around a one-out single from DJ Stewart in the bottom of the ninth. Pinch runner Kevin Gutierrez advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored the tying run on another, a 98-mile an hour sinker that he yanked and it got away from catcher Gary Sanchez.

That was the 16th blown save for the Yankees in the second half of the season, the most in the big leagues over that span.

Orioles shortstop Richie Martin laid down a perfect bunt along the third-base line to lead off the 10th, advancing the ghost-runner to third base. Wandy Peralta intentionally walked Cedric Mullins to load the bases. He struck out Ryan Mountcastle on a change-up away for the first out. Austin Hays singled through the hole at shortstop to score the winning run.

The Yankees have been riding their bullpen hard this season because their offense has underperformed and it's showing down the stretch. . . .

As has been the case all year, the Yankees failed to support Montgomery with any runs. The lefty came into Thursday's game with 3.64 runs per start, which is the fourth-worst run support for a starter in AL and the sixth-worst in the majors. . . .

[T]he Yankees were unable to score again. The Bombers went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 runners.

In the top of the 10th, ghost-runner Brett Gardner was stranded at second when Aaron Judge grounded out, Anthony Rizzo flew out and Gleyber Torres lined out to shortstop.

Dan Martin, Post:

One of these losses is bound to be one too many.

The Yankees, a strike away from a fourth straight win that would have moved them back into the AL wild-card lead over the idle Red Sox and Blue Jays, instead added to their list of ugly endings with a 3-2, 10-inning loss to the lowly Orioles on Thursday night at Camden Yards.

"It sucks,'' starter Jordan Montgomery [who had a career-high 12 strikeouts in just 5⅔ innings] said. . . .

Manager Aaron Boone said Gary Sanchez should have done a better job of getting to the high pitch on which Gutierrez scored [the tying run], but Holmes took the blame for the sinker that got away.

After the Yankees failed to score in the top of the 10th, Wandy Peralta gave up a bunt hit to Richie Martin that sent the extra runner — pinch-runner Jahmai Jones — to third.

An intentional walk to Cedric Mullins loaded the bases for Ryan Mountcastle, who struck out.

Austin Hays hit a chopper past third to end it. . . .

[T]he Yankees didn't score after the second inning.

Greg Joyce, Post:

There was no doubt in Joey Gallo's mind that he had hit a grand slam in the fifth inning Thursday night, only to see his fly ball land in the glove of Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins on the warning track.

Five innings later, that stung even more. . . .

"I didn't even think about that ball being caught, so that was kind of heartbreaking to see it get caught," said Gallo . . . 

After the Yankees scored two runs in the second inning . . . Orioles pitchers recorded eight straight innings without allowing a run for the first time since Aug. 27-28, according to YES Network.

That included 5¹/₃ shutout innings from a bullpen that entered the day with the highest ERA (5.71) in the big leagues.

Doug Kern says:

Jordan Montgomery & Clay Holmes: Second Yankees teammates ever to uncork multiple wild pitches in the same game.  Terry Mulholland & Donn Pall at CLE, Jun 24 1994.

Jordan Montgomery: First pitcher in Yankees history to strike out 12 opponents but also throw 2 wild pitches in the same game.

Jordan Montgomery: First Yankees pitcher with 12+ strikeouts in a game they lost since Luis Severino at CHW, Jun 27 2017.

Clay Holmes: First Yankees pitcher to blow a save by wild-pitching in the tying run when down to last out since Aroldis Chapman at TB, Jul 4 2019.

Of course he does.
The Post has begun putting some columnists behind a paywall. (And football is now crowding baseball off the back pages of the tabloids.)


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