Orioles hit three homers in 5-3 win over Yankees, secure playoff spot

NEW YORK – The reaction to the latest outing was, out of necessity, subdued.

A fly ball sealed the Orioles’ 5-3 victory over the Yankees, and players lined up for the traditional congratulatory handshake. They didn’t know if they’d make the postseason for the second straight year. Out-of-town scores posted on a video board in right-center field didn’t show a final between the Marlins and Twins.

Manager Brandon Hyde stepped out of the clubhouse for his customary postgame media scrum and a club official called him back inside. It was done. The Twins lost and the Orioles were allowed to continue playing in October.

Outfielder Colton Cowser bought a mini waterproof video camera, dropped it and said, “It’s already broken.” He spoke too soon and used it to take selfies with teammates and the media. Heston Kjerstad showered 20-year-old Jackson Holliday with champagne and beer, too young to drink but not to carry. They hugged, laughed, danced, smoked cigars and let off steam.

The visiting locker room at Yankee Stadium was covered in plastic. The Orioles couldn’t win at home, but they didn’t let that spoil their party. They went wild in the Bronx.

“Last year everything was a lot smoother, it felt like, and this year it’s just been a nightly grind,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries. We’re quite young and the games haven’t been easy, so to keep fighting, not to get relegated, now we’re in.”

“It’s been tough, you know?” Anthony Santander said. “But we stayed positive. We know what kind of group we have and we’re ready to go out there and compete.”

Comparisons to last year’s team and celebrations were inevitable. A total of 101 wins and claiming the division, popping the corks twice. Avoiding the injuries and adversity that have come to define 2024 to some extent.

“It’s a little different,” executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said. “Last year, winning the American League East was a big accomplishment for us, and the expectations were a lot lower, and we came into this year with higher expectations. We made a lot of moves that put a little bit of chips in the bank for this year. And then we just didn’t have the luck that we had hoped for. I think today is a sense of relief. And also that we’re going against a tough Yankee team in Yankees Stadium. You don’t know how this series is going to end.

“Our next goal is to keep the home advantage for the Wild Card and I think we’re in a good position to do that, but we’re going to have to fight the rest of the way. I hope our luck stabilizes a bit in the play-offs because last year we had the opposite.”

“Honestly, this is definitely a stepping stone for us,” catcher Adley Rutschman said. “Our goals and aspirations are higher. But it’s a testament to the hard work we’ve put in. I don’t think anyone is going to be satisfied with this. I think everyone is ready, everyone wants to take that next step.”

Rutschman’s next response was interrupted by a teammate pouring beer over his head, sending a stream of beer directly into his eyes.

“Thank you,” he said. “Oh, God, if it gets in your eyes it’s so bad.”

But also so delicious.

“We’re ready, we’re trying to get better, we’re preparing for a playoff run,” he said. “I think our guys are just really excited to go.”

The Orioles set up a birdbath for Holliday. Over it hung a child’s uniform with his name and number and a sign that read, “Baby’s First Clinchman.” Inside were a plastic bottle for a baby and large glass bottles labeled “Bird Bath Water.” Two sloppy drawings of the Oriole Bird were chalked on a plastic-covered wall.

“It was awesome that they did that and that they could celebrate with these guys,” he said with his boyish grin.

“Next year I can drink.”

Dean Kremer allowed one run in five innings, Santander hit his 44^and homer, Ramón Urías and Cowser also went deep to provide some much-needed cushion, and the Orioles prevented the Yankees from securing the division title. They made their first back-to-back playoff appearances since 1996-97.

“I think this is going to be kind of a fresh start,” Kremer said. “We don’t have to grind right now. We’re in. So I think it’s a breath of fresh air for a lot of guys here.”

Kremer started on Sept. 17, 2023, when the Orioles clinched their first playoff berth since 2016 and the Sept. 28 game when they won the division. He escaped a jam in his final inning tonight and lowered his ERA to 3.82 in the second half.

“That’s just the nature of being a competitor,” he said. “I like pitching in big games, I like getting the ball every fifth day. I just try to do my job for the team.”

Kremer insisted he didn’t know what was at stake tonight, other than winning.

“I didn’t know we could win tonight,” he said. “I didn’t think about it that much. We were just trying to knock them out. I really didn’t know. It’s not my job to know.”

Aaron Judge hit his 56^and home run to lead off the fourth inning, but the Yankees never led. Giancarlo Stanton came within a few feet of an opposite-field, game-tying home run off Jacob Webb in the sixth before being retired. Cionel Pérez put two runners on base with two outs in the seventh, and they scored against Yennier Cano on Gleyber Torres’ ground-rule double and Juan Soto’s single to cut the lead to 4-3.

Torres got caught in a rundown between third and home after Rutschman tried to catch Soto going to second. The putout was 9-2-6-2-5-2-6.

Cowser stepped to the plate against Ian Hamilton in the eighth inning and hit his 23^rd homer, a slider that disappears into the night at 432 feet and 113.6 mph. The kind of swing that might stick in the memory of some Rookie of the Year voters.

Kremer walked the first two batters in the fifth, but Alex Verdugo bounced into a 6-3 double play and Torres grounded to the left field track to end a nine-pitch at-bat. Kremer was done after 83. He allowed three hits, including a pair of Torres singles.

His victory became official after Gregory Soto retired three batters, then walked Anthony Rizzo with one out in the ninth inning and Seranthony Domínguez made his 10th save.

“I like the way the pitching staff looks right now and I think we have a good chance,” Elias said.

Santander fouled out Clarke Schmidt with one out in the sixth, giving him 100 RBIs for the season. He joined Mickey Mantle, Lance Berkman and Chipper Jones as the only switch-hitters with at least 44 home runs. The ball traveled just 344 feet, but he hit it in the right spot.

Urías led off the seventh inning against left-hander Tim Mayza with a 405-foot home run to right-center for a 4-1 lead. Urías was reinstated from the injured list Sunday. He hasn’t cooled down yet.

“We have some guys back,” Santander said, “and we’re so happy to have them back.”

The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a productive out by Kjerstad, who drove the ball to right field against Schmidt after Westburg had singled with one out and Ryan O’Hearn had doubled into the right-field corner.

O’Hearn hit a two-out, full-count single to left field in the fourth inning, scoring Santander, who walked and advanced on a wild pitch. Meanwhile, the Twins trailed 4-0 in the second inning. The Orioles could see the score. Now they can focus on themselves again.

“That’s a big relief,” Hyde said. “We’ve been meaning to do it for a while now, but it just hasn’t happened. It feels good.”

“Tonight, sitting behind home plate and looking at the scoreboard from out of town, and we’re watching the Royals and the Twins, we’re watching Detroit,” Elias said. “Yeah, it’s a lot. And we’re still going to do that. It’s kind of fun. It’s part of the excitement of baseball in September when the fall weather starts, the crowd has a little more juice. And the scoreboard from out of town is part of the drama.”

Ryan Mountcastle, in his first game since Aug. 22, pinch-hit for O’Hearn in the sixth and hit a single to center field at 107.2 mph. The Orioles are fighting fit again and are 87-70. They also won the season series against the Yankees, going 7-4 with two games remaining.

For only the fifth time in the club’s history they have won two games in a row.

They care more about the games won in October. They will have more work to do.

“It’s possible that we go into the playoffs with a little bit of a different flow than last year,” Elias said. “At least that’s my hope right now.”

“We knew what kind of team we had and we tried every day and today we finally succeeded,” said Santander.

“This is special. We’re in the play-offs. We’re in the Wild Card now, but anything can happen.”