Reflecting on THAT ending to Yankees - Orioles on Sunday
What went down in the final inning at Camden Yards on Sunday was everything that is so beautiful about baseball...
I still haven’t quite recovered from the events of Sunday.
On a day when most people I knew were either locked into Wimbledon or the Euro 2024 Final, I was carrying out my usual daily routine of watching baseball on several screens.
Aliens could launch an invasion and I’d still refuse to switch baseball off. That’s just how it is.
Anyway, given that it was the first game on, not to mention it was arguably the standout matchup of the entire day, I had the series finale between the Yankees and the Orioles on the big screen. And, boy, am I proud of myself for that decision.
Because, other than actually being in Baltimore, nothing could beat watching that game play out in high definition on a beautiful 65” TV. It’s how sports were meant to be viewed.
Having won the first two games of the series at Camden Yards, the slumping Yankees were looking to sweep the series and go into the All-Star break on a high and with a lot of momentum. Confidence was already high. Ace Gerrit Cole delivered six innings of vintage Cole ball on Friday. Luis Gil struckout seven and the offense blasted three home runs and six runs in total on Saturday. As the kids would say, the vibes were immaculate.
Then Sunday happened.
Rising star Gunnar Henderson clubbed his 28th homer of the year to give the Orioles the lead after Trent Grisham had gotten the Yankees on the board first with an RBI single. Grisham then homered to make it a tied game in the fifth inning, before Anthony Santander responded with a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the frame to swing momentum back in Baltimore’s favor.
That’s how it stayed until the top of the ninth when, all of a sudden, things began breaking the Yankees way. Veteran closer Craig Kimbrel walked Grisham. Then he walked Oswaldo Cabrera. Enter Ben Rice. The rookie, who has looked at home in the major leagues, delivered his biggest moment yet in the Pinstripes by launching a monster shot over the right-field center wall.
And, just like that, the Yankees had a 5-3 lead and all seemed right with the world. The way this team had collapsed like a cheap pack of cards in July after a stellar May was about to be forgotten and forgiven.
Crisis averted.
Except, the Orioles didn’t read the script. No, instead, the home team decided they were about to produce some ninth inning dramatics of their own. Kyle Stowers got things started with a ground ball single. Colton Cowser then reached first on a force out, before Gunnar Henderson went down on strikes.
Two outs.
But, with two runners on, things began to unravel quickly for the Yankees. Clay Holmes walked Adley Rutschman to load the bases. Ryan Mountcastle then sent a routine groundball to shortstop Anthony Volpe, who should have ended the game right there and then. Instead, he somehow managed to flub the play and Cowser scored to make it a one-run game.
Smelling blood, Camden Yards came to life and the noise and tension was palpable as Cedric Mullins strode to the plate, the game in his hands. Literally.
Holmes, an All-Star who has been so reliable for the Yankees, knew what he had to do in order to cut down the Orioles at the knees and secure a morale-boosting sweep for the Yanks. However, ultimate disaster struck and the Baseball Gods decided to inflict the cruelest of fates on Holmes and his team. Mullins sent a line drive to left field where it looked like Alex Verdugo had it covered. Instead, the former Red Sox outfielder completely misread the play, stumbling all over himself as he allowed the fly ball to sail over his head and drop on the grass, sealing an unlikely walk-off win for the Orioles.
Cue pandemonium.
Side note - further proof that Verdugo should not have gone to the All-Star Game over New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo.
The O’s rushed out of the dugout to swarm Mullins, with Camden Yards absolutely erupting. Baltimore, just like the Yankees, had also hit a bit of a skid having lost five straight heading into Sunday. But, in the blink of an eye, the Orioles had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and delivered one hell of a body blow to their biggest rival in the AL East in the process.
The Yankees went from the cusp of arguably their biggest win of the season to losing what was no doubt their toughest loss of the season to date. All thanks to two inexcusable defensive miscues from two players who are meant to be plus defenders.
The Yankees now have four or so days to stew on the most gut-punching of losses, while the Orioles can use a season-defining win as the springboard to greater success in the second-half of the season.
But, outside of the impact on the standings and on morale, Sunday’s game between two of the best teams in baseball served as a tantalizing reminder that the game is in a really great and healthy place.
What we witnessed in the ninth inning, and indeed in the buildup to those exhilarating final moments, was everything truly breathtakingly beautiful about America’s National Pastime. The fact that an entire game can change in a blink of an eye thanks to a lightning-quick swing or, in this case, an ugly defensive fumble in the field. The hope. The agony of defeat and the unmatched euphoria of victory.
All of those things were highlighted by Matt Vasgersian’s excellent, excellent, excellent call. Please, I implore you all to go and listen back to that ninth inning and listen to the broadcast. It is tremendous. Vasgersian is truly the best in the business.
Again, those final moments encapsulated everything that I love about this beautiful, beautiful game. We’re still in July yet it felt like a postseason game and I’d love for these two teams to meet in the postseason at some point.
I’ve got chills even thinking about the noise that erupted once that ball flew over the head of Verdugo. Mullins delivering that dagger into the heart of the Yankees will live on as one of the most memorable and defining moments of the entire season.
Baseball is the best.