'A heck of a win': Gritty Orioles even battle of AL East titans

NEW YORK -- The sellout crowds at Yankee Stadium have been loud. The games have been tight. The heavyweights of the American League are delivering an intense series, as expected.

The battle for the AL East is visibly heating up.

Over the past two days, the Yankees and the Orioles have traded blows. And after New York delivered an opening punch on Tuesday, Baltimore answered with an impressive strike of its own Wednesday night to set up a rubber match for Thursday.

The Orioles orchestrated a series-evening 7-6 win featuring 10 innings that weren’t short on theatrics. Cedric Mullins delivered a go-ahead RBI single during a self-created two-run rally in the 10th, and Dillon Tate recorded his first save of the season to seal the victory.

The O’s (48-25) pulled back within 1 1/2 games of the Yanks (51-25) in the AL East.

“That’s a big win. Things were going well, then they weren’t,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Really happy with how we battled, competed. When you can give up the lead and continue to fight offensively, it shows a lot about our club. It was a heck of a win.”

There was also a heck of a lot to unpack from another eventful evening in the Bronx.

The hero
Hyde has stuck with Mullins (.193 average, .566 OPS) even though the 29-year-old former All-Star has struggled offensively for much of the first half. His speed and defense are too valuable to keep him out of the lineup -- the former winning the Orioles this game.

Mullins cashed in Baltimore’s automatic runner in the 10th, plating Anthony Santander with a one-out single off New York closer Clay Holmes. Mullins took second on the throw home. And then, he swiped third before scampering home on a throwing error by catcher Jose Trevino to push the O’s lead to 7-5.

“If Ced gets a single, a lot of times it’s a double,” Hyde said. “If Ced gets on second base, he’s got an opportunity to steal third base. There’s a lot of things that he can do on the bases for us.”

After the Orioles’ 4-2 loss on Tuesday, Mullins had déjà vu. He reminded his teammates how last Friday, they lost the opener of a series vs. the National League-best Phillies in grueling, 11-inning fashion, then bounced back to win the next two games.

Mullins knows the O’s have the potential to do the same in the hostile environment in New York.

“I came in, talked to the guys, I was like, ‘I have that feeling like I had after the loss against Philly at home,’” Mullins said. “‘Just come back at it tomorrow with a fresh mindset and be ready to get after it.’”

More heroics
Baltimore had already used closer Craig Kimbrel -- who blew a save opportunity when he yielded a game-tying RBI single to Giancarlo Stanton in the ninth -- so it turned to right-hander Tate for the 10th-inning save opportunity as its seventh pitcher of the night.

Tate allowed a run on a Ben Rice sacrifice fly that cut the Orioles’ lead to 7-6. But the result on the play could have been much worse, had Santander not made a tremendous diving catch for the first out of the inning.

“Incredible,” Tate said. “It’s always a team effort every night, but having guys like that definitely makes it a lot easier out there.”

The second out came when Baltimore catcher Adley Rutschman used a pinpoint throw to nab pinch-runner Oswaldo Cabrera, who tried to steal second and put the tying run in scoring position.

“That was the throw of the year right there,” Hyde said.

Tate completed his first save since Oct. 2, 2022 (also at Yankee Stadium) by striking out Jahmai Jones, getting him to go down looking at an 0-2 sweeper near the bottom of the strike zone.

Big picture and ... fireworks?
There was some animosity on Tuesday, when both Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres were hit by pitches, causing a bit of displeasure in the Yankees’ dugout (in-game) and clubhouse (postgame). On Wednesday, Gunnar Henderson and Colton Cowser got hit on the other side.

But the Orioles aren’t fueling a narrative that any of these plunkings were intentional.

“Getting hit is unfortunately a terrible part of the game, and I don’t think anybody wants to see anybody get hit,” Hyde said. “I don’t want to see their guys get hit. I don’t want to see our guys get hit. When something like that happens, because it’s probably New York, it’s a little bit bigger of a deal. But you just don’t want to see that happen.”

Baltimore’s players are solely focused on its quest for a second straight AL East title, which continues to come with injury-caused adversity following the news that starter Kyle Bradish (Tommy John surgery) is out for the season and top lefty reliever Danny Coulombe (bone chip removal surgery) will be sidelined until likely September.

“We’re a good ballclub,” Mullins said. “The injuries are definitely unfortunate, but we’ve got to continue to find a way to get wins on the board, and it’s a lot of talented guys on this team that can make that happen.”