Orioles walk off Yankees to avoid sweep after wild comeback, head to All-Star break with slim lead in AL East

The Baltimore Orioles mounted a stunning ninth-inning comeback against the visiting New York Yankees on Sunday and as a result eked out a 6-5 win in the series finale. The win allowed the O’s to avoid the home sweep and also remain atop the standings in the American League East.

In a hotly fought series that also included a near-brawl after Heston Kjerstad was struck in the head by a pitch and Aaron Judge’s MLB-leading 34th home run, the most compelling action was saved for the final frame on Sunday.

Going into the ninth, the Orioles – who didn’t lead in the series until Sunday – called upon veteran closer Craig Kimbrel to protect a one-run lead. Trent Grisham and Oswaldo Cabrera worked walks, and that brought up rookie Ben Rice, who (temporarily) flipped the script: 

That’s Rice’s sixth home run of the season, and it comes in just his 24th game.  Kimbrel was able to retire the side after Rice’s blast, but the Baltimore had given up the lead for a 5-3 Yankees advantage. 

Yanks closer Clay Holmes, who on Friday hit Kjerstad in the head with a mid-90s sinker, worked a shaky bottom of the ninth to start. Struggling to locate, Holmes put the potential tying run on base with one out and loaded the bases with two outs – that second out a borderline punch-out of Baltimore’s best hitter, Gunnar Henderson. At that point, the Yankees’ heretofore strong defense fell apart at exactly the wrong time. 

Holmes teased a grounder off the bat of Colton Cowser, and it looked like a routine put-out at second base to end the game. However, young shortstop Anthony Volpe took the last bounce off the heel of his glove and was unable to wrangle the ball in time to make the flip to Gleyber Torres at second:

Volpe’s error allowed the O’s to cut the lead to 5-4 while keeping the bases packed. That brought up longtime Baltimore center fielder Cedric Mullins, who’s endured an uncharacteristically poor first half. Mullins was able to scoop a low-and-outside sinker from Holmes into left field. Out in left, Alex Verdugo appeared to misread off the bat and take his first step in the wrong direction. As you’re about to see, he was unable to recover: 

That’s an accidental-ish double for Mullins, and that’s a walk-off win for the Orioles. As the win-expectancy chart shows, Sunday’s game was as wild as you might given the way the ninth unfurled: 

As you can see, the Yankees’ chances of winning the final game of this crucial series approached 100% not long before the Orioles’ chances of winning reached 100%. After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone sounded understandably frustrated by the outcome (via The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner): 

“That’s a killer. Let’s acknowledge that. It’s been a rough several weeks here for us. The reality is the last couple of games in Tampa and here, feel like we’re competing our asses off and starting to turn the corner and see the signs we want to see.”

The white-knuckled win snapped a six-game home losing streak for Baltimore and pushed them to 58-38 on the season. The Yankees, meantime, slip to 58-40. Going into that bottom of the ninth, the Yankees were poised to earn sole possession of first place in the AL East for the first time since June 26. Instead, they’re now a game out. 

Notably, these two powerhouses play just one more series during this regular season – another three-gamer scheduled for Sept. 24-26 in the Bronx.