The Orioles were going to need some Orioles Magic if they wanted to head into the All-Star break with the division lead. What they got was their most magical win of the season, as Cedric Mullins delivered a walk-off winner to beat the Yankees 6-5.
After closer Craig Kimbrel gave up three runs in the top of the 9th, the Orioles headed into their last at-bats down 5-3 with a ton on the line. Staring down a six-game losing streak and losing their division, lead Kyle Stowers led off the inning with a hard-hit single up the middle. Colton Cowser then grounded into a fielder’s choice to replace Stowers at first base. After Yankees All-Star closer Clay Holmes walked pinch-hitter Ryan O’Hearn to put the tying run on base, Gunnar Henderson came to the plate as the potential winning run.
Henderson had already hit a two-run HR earlier to give Baltimore an early lead and would look to do the same to send the O’s home winners. Instead, Gunnar took a 1-1 sweeper that barely nicked the bottom of the zone for strike two and then struck out looking on a sinker that just caught the outside edge. Fellow All-Star Adley Rutschman then walked to load the bases for Ryan Mountcastle with the O’s down to their last out. Behind 0-2, Mountcastle pounded a sweeper into the ground toward shortstop, almost assuredly sealing the Orioles’ loss. Instead, Yankees SS Anthony Volpe failed to field the ball cleanly, all runners were safe and Cowser scored from third to cut the deficit to 5-4.
Then up stepped Mullins. The Orioles CF was only in the game after pinch-running for Anthony Santander in the 8th and came into the game 1-11 on the homestand. After falling behind 0-1, Mullins golfed a sinker at the knees toward the left field corner. Off the bat it looked like a very catchable ball, but Yankees LF Alex Verdugo took a false step inward and couldn’t recover to make a play. Pandemonium then ensued as O’Hearn and Rutschman raced home to win the game as the rest of the team mobbed Mullins at second base.
No Escapin’ Him pic.twitter.com/hTtCnuQ0zF
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 14, 2024
Heading into the 9th inning, it didn’t look like any magic would be required as the O’s handed the ball to Kimbrel with a 3-2 lead. Kimbrel came into this game without having allowed a run in his last seven appearances as he converted his last seven save attempts. However, things quickly went from bad to worse for the Orioles closer. He walked Trent Grisham to lead off the inning and then missed low on a 3-2 fastball to Oswaldo Cabrera to give the Yankees two baserunners. With Juan Soto and Aaron Judge looming, Kimbrel needed a good at-bat against Yankees 1B Ben Rice. Instead, he grooved a fastball to the Yankees leadoff hitter, who promptly sent it into the right field bleachers for a three-run HR.
The blown save on the big long ball was especially heart-wrenching after the Orioles bats finally broke out of their slump with some home runs of their own. Henderson clearly wasn’t happy about the idea of going into tomorrow’s Home Run Derby on an eight-game homerless streak. The AL’s starting SS in the Midsummer Classic rectified that in the bottom of the 3rd when Yankees starter Carlos Rodón hung a slider and Gunnar blasted it into the right-center stands for a two-run shot. Gunnar’s 28th long ball of the year was his first homer since July 4th and only his second in the last 16 games.
Derby preview. pic.twitter.com/XdKiaKJcT6
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 14, 2024
After the Yankees tied things in the top of the 5th, Anthony Santander renewed the Orioles lead with a homer of his own in the bottom of the inning. After Rutschman and Mounty ground out and flew out against Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle, Tony Taters stepped to the plate hunting for a pitch he could drive. He got exactly that, as Kahnle left a changeup over the heart of the plate, which Santander pummeled onto the flag court for his 24th long ball of the season. That big fly means the Orioles outfielder heads to his first All-Star game only ten HRs away from setting a new career high.
Sing us a song, you're the potato man. pic.twitter.com/ecFUdK2agv
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 14, 2024
The long balls from the O’s came in support of a so-so start from Dean Kremer. The righty came into the game off a rough start vs. the Cubs and was certainly more serviceable against the Yankees. Kremer quickly got the first two outs in the top of 1st, punching out the leadoff hitter Ben Rice and putting away Juan Soto on a failed bunt hit attempt. After hitting Judge with a first-pitch fastball that ran too far inside, Kremer closed out the frame by getting Verdugo to fly out to center on a 3-0 fastball.
Ironically, after Kremer shut down the Soto-Judge portion of the lineup, he struggled with the bottom of the lineup in the 2nd. It looked like it would be another quick inning for Kremer, as he set down Gleyber Torres and Austin Wells on just three pitches. The Orioles righty then got ahead of Volpe 0-2, but couldn’t put away the Yankees SS. Kremer eventually left a 3-2 fastball over the plate and Volpe smacked it to the right-center gap for a two-out double. Deano then made the same mistake to Grisham, throwing a fastball over the middle that the Yankees’ CF deposited into right field for an RBI single.
Down 1-0, Kremer locked back in the top of the 3rd. After falling behind Rice 3-1, he got the New York 1B to pop up to shortstop on a low fastball. Kremer then made his best pitch of the game to Soto, punching out the All-Star OF on a splitter that he buried low and in. The 28-year-old finished the 3rd by getting Judge to fly out to center on a splitter left over the plate.
Kremer would pitch another clean inning in the 4th, only to fall victim to Grisham again in the 5th. The O’s starter did walk Verdugo to lead off the 4th, and Torres immediately laid down a sac bunt to move him into scoring position. Wells and Volpe hit a couple of towering balls into the outfield, but both found the gloves of Austin Hays and Colton Cowser, leaving Verdugo stranded.
With the Yankees trailing 2-1, Grisham tied the game with a solo blast leading off the 5th. Kremer fell behind the usually light-hitting Yankees CF 3-0 and tried to back into the count with two straight fastballs. Grisham took the first fastball for a strike, then took the second fastball and deposited it onto the flag court.
That home run would spell the beginning of the end for Kremer. Oswaldo Cabrera followed it up with a hard-hit single before Kremer got Rice to fly out to the warning track and got Soto to strikeout. Kremer didn’t exactly pitch around Judge with two outs, getting the count to 3-2 but ultimately losing the battle on a splitter that missed just outside. The walk signaled the end of Kremer’s afternoon, as he finished with a final line of 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB and 4 K.
The win means the Orioles head into the All-Star break with a division lead for the first time since the 2016 season. The O’s are also now 6-4 against the Yankees this season, meaning they only need to win one game in New York in September to secure the tiebreaker. Henderson, Rutschman, Santander, Jordan Westburg and Corbin Burnes will now all head to Arlington to represent the O’s and the AL in this season’s All-Star game. The second half of the season kicks off for the Orioles on Friday, when they take on the Rangers in Globe Life Field.
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