Yankees 8, Orioles 6: New York survives Baltimore's six-run inning to secure win

The Yankees had everything going for them tonight over the first six innings. The offense scored seven unanswered runs and Ivan Nova shut out the Orioles, but then it all got very complicated. Luckily, they were able to hold on for the win, but a game that looked like an easy victory turned out to be quite the nail-biter in the end.

New York got on the board in the third inning, scoring a run when Chase Headley doubled, advanced on a fly out, and then scored on an Austin Romine sacrifice fly. The Yankees really got things going in the fourth with back-to-back hits from Carlos Beltran and Alex Rodriguez. Starlin Castro doubled to score a run, and Didi Gregorius grounded out to bring in another. Rob Refsnyder doubled and Romine singled to knock in an additional two runs, giving the Yankees a commanding lead.

They added more runs in the fifth after three straight singles by Brett Gardner, A-Rod, and Castro. Then, in the sixth, things got fun as Jacoby Ellsbury singled and moved to third on a Gardner hit. While Beltran was batting, Ellsbury managed to steal home for the second time this season, giving the Yankees a 7–0 lead.

Ivan Nova dominated the Orioles through six innings, allowing only three hits and a walk, while striking out six batters. Just when it looked like his success would continue, everything fell apart and the game was nearly lost. Entering the seventh, Nova allowed a solo home run to Mark Trumbo. He allowed a hit from Matt Wieters, and then a two-run shot from Pedro Alvarez. It was not a good thing to see, but at least the Yankees still had a four-run lead.

Instead of going to the bullpen, Joe Girardi opted to stay with Nova, who still hadn't gotten an out in the inning. He proceeded to allow a single to Jonathan Schoop, gave up a wild pitch, and then walked Ryan Flaherty. Girardi finally decided to pull him, but instead of going with Andrew Miller, he called on Nick Goody to shut the offense down. His first order of business was to throw a wild pitch, and then he gave up a three-run home run to Adam Jones making it a one-run game.

I know the argument is that you need to be able to use the lesser relievers at some point so you don't overuse the good pitchers, but this didn't seem like the time to do it. The Orioles offense appeared to have woken up, there were runners on second and third, and no outs. This was the time for a strikeout, and Andrew Miller could have provided that. If they get out of the jam, then you can worry about using Goody in a four-run game with a fresh inning. After surrendering the home run, Goody was taken out, and Miller was able to shut the door 1-2-3.

Things got scary with a one-run lead, but the Yankees came back in the ninth inning when Aaron Hicks, in for Beltran, knocked a doubled into right field. Alex Rodriguez then singled to bring in a much-needed insurance run, upping the lead to two. Aroldis Chapman pitched the bottom of the ninth and proceeded to hurt Austin Romine's thumb on a warmup pitch as the ball bounced and caught him on the hand. He shook his hand in pain and was immediately pulled out of the game. With Brian McCann able to step in, Chapman got two outs before walking Jones and bringing up the tying run, but he struck out the last batter to end the game and save the win.

At least Romine seems to be okay:

Girardi thinks that Chapman pitch just tore Romine's thumbnail. Was bleeding. Going for x-rays. Girardi said McCann can start tomorrow.

— Lohud Yankees Blog (@LoHudYankees) June 5, 2016