Orioles rally past Yankees, 5-4, to secure crucial series victory

Sam Cohn, The Baltimore Sun on Apr 30, 2025

Published in Baseball

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BALTIMORE — Ryan Mountcastle turned on a hanging slider and crushed it toward the left field porch, Camden Yards’ new addition once thought to become his best friend. The first baseman smirked as he rounded second and reveled in the rest of the slow jog (26.48 seconds) — the fourth-slowest home run trot by an Oriole this year.

After an 0 for 18 slump — “really going through it,” as his manager put it — Mountcastle could finally sigh some relief. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Orioles were lit up Tuesday on a night the offense looked stale. Their Wednesday rubber match with the New York Yankees opened with Aaron Judge clubbing a 426-foot, two-run bomb. Here we go again, the pockets of orange in attendance thought. Baltimore needed a spark. Any kind of life.

Mountcastle’s revival did just that. His two-run home run did half the work of a crucial second inning in Baltimore’s narrow 5-4 rubber match win over the Yankees. It marked their second series win of the season.

The Orioles (12-18) have struggled to cobble together four runs in a game, never mind a single inning. Ramón Urías homered two batters after Mountcastle. Then Gunnar Henderson singled and stole second before Adley Rutschman pushed him across with a bloop single to right field.

When Jackson Holliday punched a ground-ball for a run-scoring fielder’s choice in the fifth, it marked the first time the Orioles had scored at least five runs in 11 days (nine games). The last time was a 9-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds on April 19.

Mountcastle helped turn on the ignition, even if the Orioles failed to add any insurance late.

At the outset of the season, Mountcastle spoke candidly about the mental hurdle of the old left field wall. Baltimore’s best healthy right-handed hitter talked about trying to work the middle of the field more knowing how much tougher it would be to clear the left field wall. When it moved in, Mountcastle figured to be the team’s most obvious beneficiary.

His only other home run this season came against Toronto on April 13. That, too, was deposited into the left field porch. Mountcastle has been stale at the plate since. Wednesday could help turn a corner.

Orioles starter Cade Povich did something much of the starting rotation has struggled to do as of late, which is give Baltimore a chance. He pitched 4 2/3 with three walks, a pair of strikeouts and two home runs.

The spotlight turned to the shaky bullpen.

Fast forward to the ninth. The lights at Camden Yards dimmed. The whistle sounded with a one-run advantage. And those in orange rose to their feet, confident in the All-Star closer who has now saved five games this season. It was the perfect set up.

Félix Bautista did the rest, closing out a much-needed win and series victory for Baltimore by striking out Trent Grisham swinging for the final out with Judge looming on deck.

Before that, Keegan Akin worked his way into a bind allowing two, one-out singles in the sixth before ringing up Pablo Reyes and Jasson Domínguez. Yennier Cano inherited a runner in the seventh when Judge hit an RBI single.

Reliever Gregory Soto had the biggest scare of all. He misfired on a pick-off attempt to first, moving Judge to second base. Then Ben Rice — who homered twice a night earlier — sent a rocket towering toward right field. Soto said a prayer into his glove as it careened down into Heston Kjerstad’s glove for the inning’s final out.

No doubt Orioles fans chewed off all their fingernails when Bryan Baker fell behind 3-0 to Domínguez. Baker threw three straight strikes to leave the eighth unscathed.

Instant analysis

Don’t fall for this (yet). Taking this win at face value implies a lack of attention to how the rest of this season has gone. Like when Charlie Brown tries to kick the football and Lucy, for the umpteenth time, rips it away.

Could a series win versus the first-place Yankees (18-13) in April lead to something? Absolutely. But too many times this season has one solid Orioles outing looked like the one that would tip the scale in their favor, only for Baltimore to unravel in the days to follow.

The Orioles showed legitimate juice. There was a benches-clearing argument for a moment that probably didn’t warrant such fracas. Just don’t make any sweeping proclamations about a turnaround yet. At least wait to see how they do against Kansas City this weekend.

On deck

Baltimore won its rubber match with the Yankees. The schedule doesn’t get easier from here. Baltimore has a day off Thursday before a weekend set hosting Kansas City. Dean Kremer will pitch Friday, followed by Tomoyuki Sugano and Kyle Gibson.

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