Yankees takeaways from Friday's 1-0 loss to Orioles, including offensive struggles behind Gerrit Cole
Gerrit Cole was masterful again but the Yankees offense had no answer for Baltimore's pitching in a 1-0 loss on Friday night.
Four things to know from Friday's game
1. In his first game back with the Yankees, Aaron Judge batted second, and he immediately commanded the same respect from the box. After a first-inning lineout to right field, Judge walked twice, starting with a fourth-inning free pass that broke up Grayson Rodriguez's 3 1/3 perfect frames.
He walked in his fourth at-bat, as well, not swinging at anything out of the zone. He finished 0-for-1 with the three walks.
2. While the Yankees struggled to muster anything offensively following a weather delay -- the original 7:05 p.m. start time got pushed back to 9:35 p.m. -- Gerrit Cole gave New York an ace-like performance.
He didn't rack up the Ks, but Cole gave the Yankees seven shutout innings on a season-high 110 pitches (74 strikes). He allowed just three hits and no walks while striking out five batters. In his last eight starts where he's given up three runs or fewer, Cole has not had a decision. He lowered his ERA to 2.64, which now leads the American League.
3. While the Yankees offense continued to struggle and leave runners on base, the Orioles defense made play after play. In the eighth inning, Anthony Santander robbed Anthony Volpe of a possible triple with a diving catch in right field. Second baseman Adam Frazier dove to prevent an Anthony Rizzo liner from getting into the outfield with men on first and second.
The athleticism and speed of this Orioles team was on full display and it cost the Yankees. The Yankees mustered just four hits, two from DJ LeMahieu, one from Rizzo and one from a pinch-hitting Jake Bauers. They left six men on base and were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position.
Gleyber Torres went 0-for-4, ending his career-high 15-game hitting streak.
4. The game ended with a walk-off solo homer by Santander with one out in the ninth inning off of Tommy Kahnle. The righty drove a changeup below the zone, but Santander went down and golfed the ball 425 feet to end the game. Santander's homer was the only extra-base hit in this game.
Kahnle threw eight pitches in the ninth, all were changeups.
What's next
The Yankees and Orioles continue their three-game series with Saturday's 7:15 p.m. start.
New York RHP Clarke Schmidt (6-6, 4.33 ERA) and Baltimore RHP Tyler Wells (7-5, 3.65 ERA) are the probable starters.
