Yankees Beat Orioles 5-3 on Lombard Jr. RBI Single, Clinch Season Series

Q: How did a razor-thin foul ball review spark a disastrous bullpen meltdown and hand the Yankees a thrilling late-game victory?

The overturned momentum came down to one inches-wide call: Pete Alonso’s apparent go-ahead drive down the left-field line was ruled foul on the field and, because replay was inconclusive, the call stood. Instead of Baltimore taking a late lead, the game remained tied, and the Orioles never recovered from the swing in emotion or execution. That review was immediately followed by a bullpen unraveling in the eighth. Cam Sanders lost the strike zone, hitting two Yankees and issuing a walk to load the bases. Yennier Cano then entered and could not stop the damage. George Lombard Jr. chopped a slow roller up the third-base line and beat it out for an infield single that brought home the go-ahead run. On the next sequence, Jazz Chisholm Jr. created another run with aggressive baserunning, scoring on a wild pitch to push the lead to 5-3. The Yankees had already done enough to stay within striking distance. Ben Rice’s two-run homer, his 34th, helped build an early 3-1 edge, and New York absorbed Baltimore answers from Alonso and Dylan Beavers, who tied it at 3-3 with a sixth-inning homer. After that, the Yankees’ bullpen took control. Brent Headrick recovered from the Alonso near-miss by striking him out, and New York’s relievers combined for five innings of one-run ball before David Bednar closed it out for his 29th save. So the foul-ball review did not decide the game by itself, but it set up the inning in which Baltimore’s bullpen cracked and the Yankees capitalized decisively.

3 articles · Updated · Pinstripe Alley · Aug 20

George Lombard Jr. beat out a two-out infield RBI single in the eighth to break a 3-3 tie, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. added an insurance run as New York secured both the series and season series in Baltimore.
The game turned after Baltimore was denied a potential go-ahead Pete Alonso homer in the seventh when a foul call stood on review, leaving the Orioles and fans furious before the Yankees capitalized an inning later.
Ben Rice supplied early offense with his 34th homer, while Will Warren allowed two runs in four innings before Fernando Cruz surrendered Dylan Beavers' game-tying home run in the sixth.
David Bednar closed for his 29th save after Paul Blackburn escaped eighth-inning traffic, and the Yankees will try for their first three-game sweep at Camden Yards since August 2019.