Orioles strike early and win 9-7 over the Yankees

The Orioles could have lost focus after winning their playoff spot last night, but instead Baltimore made a statement with one of its stronger offensive performances in the second half.

The Birds got the better of New York starter Marcus Stroman from the start and eventually built a seven-run lead. Zach Eflin had trouble with his lead and Matt Bowman made it exciting in the ninth inning, but the lineup built too big a lead. All nine players had at least one hit and the Orioles finished the game with 8 of 16 runs with runners in scoring position. The nice overall results led to a 9-7 victory at Yankee Stadium.

The Orioles started the game with six consecutive singles, and the first three all targeted New York's young shortstop. Gunnar Henderson got an infield single to Anthony Volpe, Jordan Westburg got a base hit past a diving Volpe, and Anthony Santander threw a ball over a leaping Volpe to load the bases.

Colton Cowser decided to give Volpe a chance and targeted the Yankees' left fielder. Cowser hit a ball toward the left field corner and Jasson Domínguez ran over him. The ball landed without hitting Domínguez's glove and the first two runs went home. Cowser stayed on first base for the fourth consecutive single, but Anthony Santander ran in the first out at third base.

Santander made a baserunning error, but Cowser stole second base, putting another runner in scoring position. Ryan Mountcastle followed with a sharp ball to center, scoring Baltimore's third run of the game.

The O's offense didn't let the celebrations get the better of them last night, but Eflin wasn't at his best on the night. Eflin took to the mound after a long first inning and walked both of New York's star players. The right-hander fell behind 2-0 to Austin Wells, which led to a meeting on the mound with James McCann.

Fortunately, the talk helped. Eflin calmed himself down with a perfectly placed cutter for strike one before making a double play to end the inning.

Eflin is known for throwing strikes, but his control failed him again in the second. He allowed a walk to Giancarlo Stanton and allowed another walk after two quick outs. Unfortunately, he couldn't repeat his escape trick from the first. Volpe hit a base hit to left field for New York's first run of the night, but Eflin limited the damage by taking Gleyber Torres out of the game.

Neither team could score in the third inning, and Baltimore was able to tie the game in the fourth inning. Ramón Urías hit a leadoff single to right and reached third base on a single by Cedric Mullins. Mullins grabbed his 31st sack of the season, putting a second runner in scoring position, and Henderson hit his third at-bat of the night, scoring two runs.

The fifth run of the night put New York starter Marcus Stroman out of the game, but the Orioles weren't satisfied. Westburg went down after strikes for the second out, but Anthony Santander chased Henderson home with a double to right field. Cowser followed with a double of his own and the Orioles led 7-1 at the bottom of the fourth inning.

Eflin pitched a shutdown inning and Baltimore scored its eighth run in the fifth inning. Mullins walked with two outs, stole his 32nd bag of the year and scored on a single by James McCann.

Baltimore's starter took a seven-run lead into the fifth inning, but an inefficient night brought early action in the bullpen. Eflin allowed a leadoff single from Anthony Rizzo before getting two outs. He walked Juan Soto, but the All-Star smashed a 361-foot fly ball over the right-field fence.

Eflin needed one more out to qualify for the win, but Aaron Judge hit a single up the middle. He allowed Wells his fifth walk of the night and Brandon Hyde had to make a change.

Jacob Webb came in and hit a hard ball to Stanton, but Henderson knocked him down, preventing a run. With the bases loaded, Jazz Chisholm hit a harmless fly ball to right field.

Baltimore extended the lead back to six in the eighth inning on a Westburg single, and Hyde tried to finish things off with Matt Bowman. Regardless of the outcome, Bowman is likely to be an uneven matchup against this Yankee team.

Rizzo, Torres and Soto all singled for the game's fourth run, but Bowman needed only a grounder from Judge to secure the win. Judge had other plans, and his three-run hit cut the large lead to just two.

While Seranthony Domínguez warmed up, Hyde turned to Keegan Akin to confront the left-handed Wells. Akin didn't let up before taking Wells out of the game with a fly ball to left, and he ended the game with a pop out from Stanton.

Akin deserves a lot of credit for thwarting the comeback attempt so quickly. The Orioles secured the series victory and forced the Yankees to wait at least one more night before securing the AL East title.

The Orioles finished the game with 17 hits and scored all nine runs without needing a long ball.