-1745819772711.png){kind=logo}
The punishment that Tomoyuki Sugano absorbed tonight in the first inning looked a lot worse on the scoreboard than on the field.
Still counts, though.
Aaron Judge poked a two-out single into right-center field at 88.2 mph, and Cody Bellinger followed with a looping single to right at 68.5. Giancarlo Stanton lined a sweeper the opposite way, the ball carrying only 358 feet but reaching the first row of fans above the out-of-town scoreboard.
The sequence didn’t seem alarming but it set the tone, with the Orioles losing to the Yankees 6-1 before an announced crowd of 37,675 at Camden Yards and guaranteeing a sub-.500 finish to the season.
Judge hit his 49th home run leading off the third, a full-count sweeper – the eighth pitch of the at-bat – staying fair down the left field line at 112.2 mph and landing deep in the lower section. That one was loud.
Sugano made his next-to-last start of the season, with his team-leading 30th expected next weekend in New York. The Orioles (73-82) were battered by injuries again this season, but they could count on him.
They weren’t getting any length tonight. Sugano’s pitch count climbed to 58 after the second inning and 87 after the third, and left-hander José Castillo replaced him.
"I just thought it looked good the first couple batters, some soft contact, one really good swing by a future Hall of Famer," said interim manager Tony Mansolino, "and then stopped attacking the zone in some ways."
The outing matched Sugano’s shortest in the majors. He had to leave his Sept. 7 start against the Dodgers after three-plus innings because Hyeseong Kim’s comebacker hit his foot.
“I was feeling pretty good overall," he said via interpreter Yuto Sakurai. "A couple of soft contacts. And that home run to Stanton, the location was actually pretty good. Just didn’t have luck.”
Home runs remain an issue with Sugano, who’s allowed 30 this season, including nine in his last five starts. He’s tied with the Twins’ Bailey Ober for most in the American League.
Corbin Burnes led the Orioles last season with 22. John Means was the most recent to surrender 30 in 2021. Dylan Bundy holds the club record with 41 in 2018, followed by Jeremy Guthrie (2009), Scott McGregor (1986), Sidney Ponson (1999) and Robin Roberts (1963) with 35.
“I think it’s something to do with the pitch sequencing," Sugano said. "That home run to Stanton, if I had gone in at some point, maybe the results could have been different.
“They’re obviously a good lineup of hitters. I don’t feel like … I can obviously out-pitch them.”
Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón carried a shutout into the seventh inning before Coby Mayo’s two-out double scored Tyler O’Neill. He retired 10 in a row before Mayo’s single with one out in the fifth.
"I thought it was the perfect storm of a good left-hander that threw nothing in the middle part of the plate," Mansolino said. "Very few mistakes, lived on the edges to off, and then a young group of hitters that was over aggressive tonight."
Mayo was an exception.
“I think you’ve got to be able to produce off left-handed pitching and just felt like I got in a good groove earlier in the year and then kind of lost it a little bit when we stopped facing lefties," Mayo said. "I think kind of the more you face them, going for both sides, lefty or righty, you get more comfortable, and we’ve had a little stretch here with some more lefties. So I think it’s important for me.”
Mayo tallied his eighth multi-hit game, and his third in the last eight games. He's reached base in eight of his last nine games, slashing .379/.471/.655 with two doubles, two home runs, four RBIs and four walks since Sept. 11.
“It was honestly a big struggle last year, obviously, and this year obviously it’s been a good month so far," he said. "Looking for a good last week or whatever we have left, and if I can go into the offseason (with) a little peace of mind that I finished the year strong and I can put up these little goals, I think it’s a positive.
"I think just ever since I got here this season, just with Manso being really good with me and (Robinson) Chirinos and Buck (Britton) and the whole coaching staff, they’ve really done a good job of encouraging me and making sure when I’m not playing or when I am playing to keep it light and not to put too much pressure on myself, because I think that’s when you can kind of go down sort of that rabbit hole and try to do too much and press. So yeah, I think playing looser and playing a little bit more free takes the pressure off and just frees you up.”
The Orioles vowed to give Mayo steady playing time and didn't back away from it.
"It definitely exposes you more to every kind of pitcher," he said. "You don’t really get a break. You face every good righty, every good lefty, and I think that’s a good thing.
"Talked to (Kyle) Stowers about that a few weeks ago. When you’re in there every single day, there’s no hiding from any pitcher. You’re facing the best righties, the best lefties, relief pitchers, and you kind of have to go into that as confident as possible, because we face all this good pitching down in the minor leagues, not to discredit yourself from what you did down there and just make sure you know that you can hit. You can hit all types of pitching. And I think when you get an extended period of at-bats, you’re going to be more exposed to better pitching, better righties, right-on-right, left-on-left, whoever it is.”
Gunnar Henderson singled in the first and Ryan Mountcastle in the second without the ball leaving the infield. Henderson stole his 27th base in 31 attempts.
Jazz Chisholm’s single off Castillo in the fifth scored Bellinger, and Trent Grisham had an RBI single off Yennier Cano in the sixth for a 6-0 lead.
Jose Espada entered in the seventh to become the 70th player used by the Orioles, tying the 2024 Marlins for the major league record. He tossed three scoreless innings with four strikeouts, and the only hit was Paul Goldschmidt’s popup in shallow right field that fell between three players.
"Sounds like it was more of a communication thing," Mansolino said.
Espada was making his second major league appearance and first since 2023 with the Padres.
No one could save the Orioles from a losing season.
“Of course, it’s disappointing I think for everybody in this locker room," Mayo said. "I wasn’t here all year. For the guys who were here all year, it’s definitely disappointing. Disappointing for myself being here. But I think it kind of gives everybody a chip on their shoulder going into the offseason. You don’t want to feel this feeling again of playing games at the end of the season and you kind of know your plan. You want to always look forward to the playoffs. I think that this, you kind of need a negative to go forward. Sometimes you need to take a step back for a few steps forward, and I think that’s what everyone in this room hopes to do next year.”
* Adley Rutschman hit a tie-breaking home run at Triple-A Norfolk in the latest game on his rehab assignment. He walked three times and had a sacrifice fly.
