Yankees 1, Orioles 7: A cat got on the field

Coming into this game, the Yankees were coming off a 10-game road trip. While they took some brutal losses during it, as per usual, the ending sweep of the Marlins seemingly left the Yankees in a good place. Considering the additions that had been made at the trade deadline, it was hard not to feel better about things.

Baseball in a one-game sample can be quite random. Therefore, this game shouldn’t grind all that progress to a halt. That being said, it’s hard not to come away frustrated. The Yankees were held in check by Jorge López, who came into this game with an ERA over six. In this one, he allowed just one run, despite giving the Yankees plenty of free passes on walks.

Meanwhile, Andrew Heaney’s Yankee debut could not have gone much worse. He allowed four home runs, all solo shots, and lasted just four innings.

Nothing went right, as the Yankees lost to the Orioles in the series opener, 7-1. Oh, a cat got loose on the field, that was fun at least.

The Yankees had their chances to score in the first two innings, but they failed to do so and thus allowed Baltimore to capitalize in the third. After throwing two scoreless frames to start the game, Heaney got into some trouble in the third, allowing back-to-back home runs to Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays.

The next inning, a similar thing happened. While it wasn’t back-to-back, Ryan Mountcastle and Ramón Urías added two more solo shots, turning things from bad to worse. The fourth inning would also be the end of Heaney’s day, as Joely Rodríguez came in to start the fifth.

The Yankees got on the board in the fifth, despite the fact that they’re were still getting no-hit at the time. Gleyber Torres and Brett Gardner both walked to start the inning, López’s fourth and fifth walks of the game. DJ LeMahieu then flew out, but it was deep enough for Torres to tag up and move over to third. Anthony Rizzo then hit one deep in foul territory down the left field line that was snagged by a nice catch from Hays. However, that too was enough for a tag-up, as Torres scored to get the Yankees on the board.

After all that, the Orioles then immediately extended their lead in the sixth. Rodríguez had thrown a scoreless fifth and was brought back out for the sixth, but that didn’t go as well. The frame started with a Anthony Santander single and a Urías walk, with both moving up a base on a wild pitch. This time, sacrifice flies benefitted the Orioles. Two straight fly outs in the next two at bats each scored a run, somewhat negating the work the Yankees had done in getting on the board.

The Yankees finally broke up López’s no-hitter in the sixth when Joey Gallo doubled to lead off the inning. Naturally, nothing ended up coming from it.

From a Yankee perspective, the most interesting thing that happened probably came in the eighth inning when a cat got on the field.

Other than a seventh-inning rally attempt that was mostly ended by a DJ LeMahieu double play, the Yankees’ offense didn’t do much of anything after they initially scored.

It’s not like the Yankees are 15 games back in the playoff race or anything, but this is the exact example of a game they really can’t afford to play. Oh well, at least we’ll always have that cat moment.

The Yankees will try to right the ship tomorrow night against these same Orioles. First pitch is at 7:05pm ET, as rookie lefty Alexander Wells faces Gerrit Cole lol jk Gerrit Cole has COVID and Nestor Cortes Jr. will start. What a joy this season is.

Box Score