NEW YORK — On the day the Orioles pitching staff took another hit, the Yankees only grew stronger.
On Wednesday morning, Kyle Bradish had Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery, the third Orioles starting pitcher to have a season-ending procedure this month. He will miss the rest of the season and at least half of next year’s as well.
But the Yankees, the Orioles’ top competition for the American League East title, got reigning American League Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole back after he missed the start of the season with an elbow injury.
The Yankees rotation, even without Cole, has been one of the best in baseball, allowing an MLB-low 3.38 runs per game. But the remaining members of the Orioles rotation have been able to keep it together in the face of injury after injury.
On Wednesday night, it was rookie Cade Povich vs. the Cy Young winner, and the kid held his own just fine. The same couldn’t be said for the Orioles bullpen, but Baltimore squeaked out the win in extra innings, 7-6, thanks to a clutch hit from center fielder Cedric Mullins.
“That’s a big win,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Things were going well, then they weren’t. I’m really happy with how we battled, competed. We gave up the lead and continued to fight offensively. It shows a lot about our club.”
Yankee Stadium is no easy place to play, especially for a 24-year-old making just his third start, and he has the pressure of pitching in a series that could have playoff implications. Povich once again showed composure and the ability to handle the moment.
His outing didn’t get off to a promising start. He walked two in the first inning with one out to load the bases, but was able to get out of it with just one run, despite needing 32 pitches. He again walked two in the second and escaped, this time without letting anyone score. Povich only got stronger as the game went on, retiring eight in a row until he walked Juan Soto in the fifth to end his outing.
Povich said he regrouped in between innings, talking with pitching coach Drew French and looking at how the Yankees hitters were working at-bats and the kind of contact they made so he could beat them in the strike zone. He also had to remember to trust himself.
“Physically, it might not have been all synced up like last start or like I wanted it to be,” Povich said. “It was one of those where I had to come back mentally and just grind away.”
Povich allowed just one hit, one run, five walks and one strikeout in 4 2/3 innings, becoming the first starting pitcher in MLB history with that stat line.
Cole did a much better job keeping the walks down in his first game of the season, surrendering just one, but did allow two earned runs in four innings. In the first, shortstop Gunnar Henderson hit a leadoff double. He was driven in by ground-rule double from designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn. Mullins singled to open the fifth, ending Cole’s day. Then Ramón Urías, filling in for the injured Jordan Westburg at third base, hit a two-run homer.
The saga that ensued on night one — when Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was “pissed” after being hit by a pitch — came into play Wednesday after Henderson and left fielder Colton Cowser were hit by pitches. Both were fine.
It was the Orioles bullpen, operating without Danny Coulombe for at least the next three months, that provided the real drama. In the seventh, Anthony Volpe and Soto singled off Cionel Pérez. Yennier Cano took over, and immediately allowed a three-run homer to Giancarlo Stanton to put the Yankees within one.
The Orioles held on to that lead heading into the ninth, when Craig Kimbrel came out to face the top of the Yankees lineup. A sold-out stadium got to its feet, and they grew even louder as Volpe hit a double and Stanton hit a single to tie the game and send it to extra innings.
“Nice that he only allowed that one run,” Hyde said. “Those things that are going to happen, I think he just wanted to make a better pitch to Stanton there.”
It was smart base running and defense that gave the game back to the Orioles. Mullins had a base hit to open the 10th, and Anthony Santander, stationed on second, was able to score and Mullins advanced to second. In the next at-bat, Mullins stole third and then scored on a throwing error to give the lead back to the Orioles.
Dillon Tate let in one run — and only one run thanks to a great diving catch from Santander and a pinpoint throw from catcher Adley Rutschman to nab a runner at second base — to get the save, his first since 2022.
“We’re a good ball club,” Mullins said. “The injuries are definitely unfortunate but we have to continue to find a way to get wins on the board. We have a lot of talented guys on this team that can make it happen.”
