Yanks Lose Heartbreaker To O's In Extras, 1-0

     Trying to win their first series in the month of May, the Yankees  faced off against the Orioles in the rubber game of their three-game series at Camden Yards. Far and away the best starter for the Yankees, Masahiro Tanaka and his 1-0 record took the mound for New York. The Orioles sent right-hander Kevin Gausman to the bump, looking to win his first game of the season. In a game that saw a manager ejected, a phenomenal pitchers duel would prove to be the story of the night.
     The first real drama of the game unfolded in the top of the fourth inning when manager Joe Girardi was ejected from the game. With Starlin Castro on third base after leading off the inning with a double, a fired up Girardi was seen barking at both the home and third-base umpires, apparently over a missed balk call. When you're team is struggling to score runs, a balk with a runner on third base means a run, and Joe was clearly and justifiably not pleased with the lack of acknowledgment from the umpiring staff. Robby Thompson took over as manager for the duration of the game
     As previously stated, both pitchers were remarkable through the first eight innings of the game. Tanaka only allowed five hits, while striking out seven batters over a brilliant eight shutout innings. Similarly, young Gausman only allowed three hits to the Yankee offense over eight scoreless innings of work, where he, after giving up the double to Castro in the fourth, retired 14 out of 15 straight batters.
     The Yankees did have a chance to score in the top of the ninth inning against Oriole closer Zack Britton. Starlin Castro found himself at second base with two outs and the number three hitter Brian McCann at the plate. In an absolutely bone-headed play, trying to get too large of a secondary lead, Castro was picked off of second base by the catcher Matt Wieters. The game was forced into extra innings when Dustin Ackley, making his first start of the season in left field, heroically stole a walkoff homerun by Matt Wieters, doubling off Joey Ricard, who was unable to get back to first base.
     In the bottom of the tenth, Johnny Barbado allowed an infield single to Hyun Soo Kim, who immediately advanced to third on a Jonathan Schoop single. With left-handed hitting Pedro Alvarez due up, the Yankees sent Andrew Miller into the game to try and save the day. The big lefty, however, was unsuccessful as he served up a sacrifice fly to centerfield, scoring Kim as the only run of the night to be scored.
     After getting such a remarkable starting pitching performance from their ace, the Yankees bats once again could not get the job done. Let's hope this is not a sign of things to come, as New York embarks on a very important homestand, beginning with hosting the Red Sox tomorrow night at 7:05 PM ET.