Orioles end Skid with Win against Yankees

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Dylan Bundy delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Monday, May 29, 2017, in Baltimore. (Nick Wass/Associated Press)

The Baltimore Orioles (26-23) end their seven-game losing streak with a 3-2 win against the New York Yankees (29-19) in the opener of their three-game series.

The Orioles opened the score in the bottom of the first. CF Joey Rickard led off with a single and moved to second base on a groundout from 1B Chris Davis. With two outs, RF Mark Trumbo hit a single and drove in Joey Rickard for a 1-0 lead.

It took New York’s SP Jordan Montgomery 34 pitches to end the inning.

The Yankees tied the game in the second inning. 2B Starlin Castro was hit by a pitch and advanced to second base on a flyout by RF Aaron Judge. Starlin Castro could have scored on SS Didi Gregorius’ infield single but he lost track of the ball, didn’t look at the third base coaches sign and returned to third base. CF Aaron Hicks’ sacrifice flyball eventually drove Starlin Castro home for the tying run.

Baltimore took the lead again in the third. With one out, Mark Trumbo reached on a fielding error by Starlin Castro and LF Trey Mancini hit a two-out single. 2B Jonathan Schoop then drove in both runners with a double to put the Orioles up 3-1.

Jordan Montgomery (2-4) had a pitch count of 73 at this point. He finally exited after 4.1 innings and 100 pitches with two runners on base. Montgomery gave up 8 hits, 1 walk and 1 earned run while fanning 5. He now has a 4.11 ERA with a 1.31 WHIP.

RP Jonathan Holder recorded the remaining two outs to keep the score at 3-1 for Baltimore after five innings.

In the seventh inning, Aaron Judge hit a league-leading 17th homer to cut the deficit to one run.

Baltimore’s SP Dylan Bundy (6-3) cruised through six innings but needed 23 pitches to get out of the seventh. He finished the day with 7 hits, 1 walk and 2 earned runs while striking out 3. He now posts a 2.89 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP on the season.

CL Brad Brach pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 10th save of the year. He has a 3.38 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP to show for.