BALTIMORE — Juan Soto knew he got a hold of one Tuesday night when his bat connected with a Dean Kremer sinker.
With the Yankees down 4-1, the slugger ripped the first home run of the season to Camden Yards’ Eutaw Street, and the 123rd all-time. Proud of his solo bomb, Soto initially watched the 447-foot blast before shooting an unimpressed stare in Kremer’s direction. He then tossed his lumber aside and began to trot.
As Soto circled the bases, he looked Kremer’s way a few more times.
I don’t know what Dean Kremer did to Juan Soto but, given the amount of stink eye Soto shot him after this bomb, I’d recommend Kremer never do it again. pic.twitter.com/MIJed6f1pu
— Drew (@DrewGROF) May 1, 2024
While Soto’s team-leading eighth home run provided some theatrics, it wasn’t enough to carry a Yankees offense that did little else in a 4-2 loss to the Orioles. With Austin Wells’ third-inning solo homer providing the Bombers’ only other run, the club dropped its second straight game against the division rival.
Double plays were especially hurtful, as the Yankees grounded into three of them while Kremer logged seven strong innings.
The Yankees’ defense didn’t help them either, particularly in the second inning.
Things first went wrong when Anthony Rizzo, running far down the right field line, could not catch an Anthony Santander flyball. The play was clearly Soto’s to make, but the ball found grass and resulted in a double despite having an 85% catch probability.
Baltimore’s Jordan Westburg then grounded a ball to Gleyber Torres. Rather than taking the easy out at first, Torres fired to third in an attempt to gun down the running Santander. Instead, Torres’ throw hit the runner, who scored the O’s first run thanks to the deflection.
Baltimore added three more runs in the fourth inning. With Nestor Cortes on the mound, James McCann smoked an RBI double over Aaron Judge’s head in left field. That broke a 1-1 tie before Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman added RBI singles.
Cortes ended up with eight hits, four earned runs, two walks and five strikeouts over six innings as the Yankees fell to second place in the American League East.
With the Yankees now in a 2-0 series hole, the best they can hope for is a split. That won’t be easy though, as Corbin Burnes is scheduled to start for the Orioles on Wednesday.
The Yankees were linked to the 2021 Cy Young winner over the offseason, but the Brewers ultimately traded Burnes to Baltimore in February. The right-hander has pitched well for his new team thus far, recording a 2.55 ERA over his first six starts.
Luis Gil will take the mound for the Yankees. The flamethrower has a 4.01 ERA after five starts.
