Yankees 4-5 Orioles: Aaron Judge stays red-hot, but NY falter in frustrating loss to Baltimore

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Aaron Judge continued his blistering start to the season, reaching base four times and driving in three runs, but it wasn’t enough for the Yankees, who dropped the series finale to the Orioles 5-4, marking their first divisional series loss of the year.

Judge’s monster day wasted: Yankees fall short against Orioles bullpen

Judge was virtually unstoppable, smashing a home run, adding two singles, and receiving an intentional walk, boosting his season batting average to .427, OPS to 1.282, and an impressive wRC+ to 263. His day started emphatically, hammering a hanging curveball 426 feet to straightaway center field in the first inning, scoring Trent Grisham and quickly putting the Yankees up 2-0. This home run—his tenth of the season—tied him for the MLB lead, extended his hitting streak to 11 games, and his on-base streak to 27. It also marked the Yankees’ 15th first-inning home run this season, underscoring their aggressive early scoring approach.

Yet, Carlos Carrasco swiftly unraveled on the mound, unable to hold the advantage. After navigating through trouble in the first inning, things fell apart in the second. Jackson Holliday led off with a single, and Ryan Mountcastle quickly capitalized, launching a two-run homer off Carrasco’s misplaced slider. Two batters later, Ramón Urías drove a flat four-seam fastball over the wall for a solo home run, flipping the game and giving the Orioles a 3-2 lead. Baltimore added another run when Gunnar Henderson singled, stole second, and came home on Adley Rutschman’s timely single, making it a 4-2 deficit for the Yankees.

Carrasco’s day ended abruptly after only 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits with five strikeouts. His ERA ballooned to 5.90, and he now ranks among the six worst MLB starters in home runs allowed per nine innings (2.17). This was the third time in his last five outings that Carrasco surrendered four runs without completing five innings, highlighting the rotation’s recent vulnerabilities.

An unusual and heated moment occurred in the fourth inning when Baltimore’s Heston Kjerstad attempted a steal of second base. Yankees catcher Austin Wells threw high, forcing Pablo Reyes to leap, inadvertently colliding with Kjerstad’s head. Kjerstad reacted angrily, sparking a benches-clearing confrontation, though order was quickly restored without further escalation.

New York attempted to claw back into the game in the fifth inning when Paul Goldschmidt broke a quiet stretch with a powerful solo home run, cutting the deficit to 4-3. This marked Goldschmidt’s second homer of the season and his first since the opening series. However, defensive miscues immediately negated the momentum. Reliever Tim Hill opened the bottom half by issuing two walks before inducing a potential double-play grounder that shortstop Anthony Volpe mishandled, loading the bases. Another failed double-play attempt allowed an insurance run to score, pushing the Orioles’ advantage back to two runs.

Fernando Cruz entered from the bullpen, skillfully halting further damage by escaping a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout and flyout, followed by striking out the side in the sixth inning, extending his AL relief-leading strikeout total to 27.

The Yankees trimmed the deficit once more in the seventh through strategic small ball. Oswald Peraza walked to start the inning, advanced on outs by Goldschmidt and Grisham, and scored easily on Judge’s RBI single—his fourth trip reaching base on the day. However, Baltimore preserved their slim lead thanks to a critical sliding catch by Ramón Laureano, which limited New York to just one run in the inning.

Baltimore’s bullpen effectively shut down the Yankees from there. Félix Bautista dominated the ninth inning, securing his fifth save with a perfect frame capped by a strikeout of Grisham, leaving Judge waiting helplessly on deck.

Up next

With this 5-4 loss, the Yankees head back home, taking their first divisional series defeat of the year. They will now enjoy an off day before hosting the Rays for a critical three-game series starting Friday. Max Fried, perfect so far at 5-0, will face Tampa Bay’s Ryan Pepiot in the series opener, scheduled for a 7:05 pm EDT start on YES Network.

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