BALTIMORE — Round one of 17 went to the defending AL East champs.
In the first showdown between the division rivals — and the top two offenses in the American League — the Orioles inched past the Yankees, 2-0, Monday night in front of a lively 23,184 at Camden Yards.
Clarke Schmidt and Grayson Rodriguez engaged in a pitchers’ duel in which the only blemish was Gunnar Henderson’s leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning.
The Orioles (18-10) added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring from third when Anthony Volpe booted a ground ball with two outs.
After scoring 30 runs between Saturday and Sunday’s games against the Brewers, the Yankees (19-11) could not carry over the offensive momentum into Monday and were shut out for the fifth time this season.
They put 10 runners on base but stranded all of them and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
The Yankees brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning after Gleyber Torres led off with a single.
Oswaldo Cabrera then hit a deep fly ball to left-center field, but it fell short of the wall that was pushed back in 2022.
Lefty reliever Danny Coulombe — closing in place of Craig Kimbrel, who had blown back-to-back save opportunities — then retired the next two Yankees to end the game.
Schmidt turned in a strong effort across 5 ²/₃ innings, keeping one of the majors’ most dangerous offenses in check.
The lone damage came on the first batter he faced, as Henderson crushed a low-and-inside curveball for the quick 1-0 lead.
Schmidt went on to cruise in the middle innings before issuing his first two walks in the fifth that turned into runners on second and third with one out. But he got out of that jam by inducing a pair of pop-ups.
The Yankees had one of their best chances to score in the third inning, when Volpe walked and Juan Soto hit a long single off the high wall in right field to put runners on the corners with one out.
But Aaron Judge chased a 3-2 changeup below the zone, and Anthony Rizzo grounded out to third base to end the threat.
They made Rodriguez work, forcing him to throw 101 pitches across 5 ²/₃ innings. He gave up five hits and three walks but kept the Yankees off the scoreboard.
