BALTIMORE — The New York Yankees let a critical chance slip away Friday night, dropping a 4-2 decision to the Baltimore Orioles that stung their playoff hopes. With the Toronto Blue Jays routed 20-1 in Kansas City, New York needed only to handle last-place Baltimore to cut into the division lead.
Instead, two defensive breakdowns in the sixth inning turned a manageable game into a painful setback. The Yankees (86-68) stayed three games back of Toronto in the American League East with just eight games to play.
“It’s kind of upsetting not to get the ‘W’ tonight and come closer to the Blue Jays to win the pennant,” Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “That’s all we’re thinking about right now is winning the division. This is a tough loss today.”
Warren’s nightmare moment changes everything
Rookie starter Will Warren kept the Yankees close early. He gave up just one run through five innings, a Ryan Mountcastle solo homer in the second.
But the sixth unraveled the Yankees fast. Jordan Westburg opened the inning with a broken-bat comebacker to the mound. A piece of the bat hit the rolling ball, changing its spin as it slipped through Warren’s legs for an error.
“That’s probably the worst play I’ve ever made in my life,” Warren said. “A bit embarrassing and it led to a run, so that was disappointing.”
That error set the tone for what became a disastrous frame for the Yankees.
Chisholm’s error compounds the damage
Moments later, Gunnar Henderson hit a grounder to second. Chisholm charged hard and tried to flip the ball directly from his glove to Paul Goldschmidt at first. The throw sailed high, far out of reach.
The mistake left Baltimore with runners on second and third and no outs.
“He needed to nail it right away and I think he kind of had to snatch it a little bit a second time,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Once he double-clutched or double-hitched, then he probably didn’t have a play and it would have been better just to eat it.”
Both runners scored. Mountcastle lifted a sacrifice fly, and Samuel Basallo pushed across another run on a fielder’s choice. Suddenly, the Yankees were in a 3-0 hole.
Yankees offense falls to Rogers
As the defense collapsed, the bats never got going. Baltimore left-hander Trevor Rogers silenced New York for six innings. He yielded just one hit, a single by Austin Wells in the sixth.
Rogers, who entered the night with a 1.43 ERA over 16 starts since joining the Orioles, once again dominated the Yankees.
“We didn’t pressure him a lot,” Boone said. “We ran his count up. We made him work. I thought he was getting some pitches there, especially that glove side. But we just obviously had a hard time mounting much against him.”
Chisholm makes history in defeat
Jazz Chisholm did supply a bright moment. In the seventh, he launched a two-run homer off reliever Dietrich Enns. The blast gave him 30 homers and 30 stolen bases for the season, making him just the third Yankees star to achieve a 30-30 campaign.
Only Bobby Bonds in 1975 and Alfonso Soriano in 2002 and 2003 had reached the milestone before for the Yankees.
“It’s great,” Chisholm said. “I wish it would have came with a win today, but it’s great.”
The homer cut Baltimore’s lead to 3-2 and sparked a brief surge of energy from the Yankees dugout and their fans in attendance. But Henderson answered with an RBI double off Tim Hill in the bottom half, pushing the Orioles ahead 4-2.
Baltimore defense takes shine off Yankees bats
If the Yankees faltered with the glove, Baltimore’s fielders rose to the moment. Left fielder Dylan Beavers stole the spotlight in the sixth with two highlight catches.
First, he leapt at the wall to rob Goldschmidt of extra bases. Then he sprinted in to make a diving grab on Aaron Judge’s sinking liner. Both plays killed potential rallies and kept Rogers’ shutout intact.
Playoff implications grow more dire
The loss weighed heavily on the Yankees’ postseason chase. While they still lead Boston and Houston by two games for the top AL wild-card position, their push for the division crown suffered.
Toronto’s blowout defeat had opened the door, but New York failed to walk through. With time running short, every game carries greater urgency.
“Every time you lose, it sucks, and every time you win, it feels good,” the Yankees manager said. “We’re working to shake hands and put ourselves in the best possible position heading down the stretch here. This is a tough one tonight, obviously.”
The Yankees will turn the page quickly with Saturday’s game in Baltimore looming as another must-win.
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