Yankees’ offense short-circuits as Orioles rally late to take series opener

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - MAY 11: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on before batting against the Baltimore Orioles during the third inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 11, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) | Getty Images Sometimes you just have to tell yourself it’s a long, long season. These are one of these days.

After a mildly depressing sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend, the Yankees’ offense looked to break out against a pitching staff with considerably less firepower, one which they dominated last week in a four-game series at Yankee Stadium. With a depleted bullpen, they needed both length from Ryan Weathers and some offense to give the high-leverage guys some rest. It all started according to plan with six no-hit innings by Weathers and an early home run by Ben Rice, but a perpetual struggle with runners in scoring position carried over from Milwaukee, and the O’s capitalized on their only real traffic of the night, stealing a 3-2 heartbreaker over the Yankees to mark their fourth consecutive defeat.

A trend in the first couple of innings for the Yankees’ offense was to make Brandon Young work, which is what they did in the first. Rice ripped a single after getting it to 3-2 and Cody Bellinger drew a two-out walk, only to be stranded by a weak fly ball from Jazz Chisholm Jr. Weathers got things started by working around a leadoff walk to put up a quick zero.

Both pitchers worked 1-2-3 second innings, but Young wasn’t as fortunate in the third. After walking Trent Grisham with one out, Rice worked another three-ball count before getting a 3-1 sinker up and driving it to left-center field for a home run into the bullpen. His 13th of the season, it put the Yanks up 2-0 in the third.