BALTIMORE -- One baseball made a lot of people happy at Camden Yards on Tuesday night amid the middle portion of the Orioles’ 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Mets.
This particular ball started in the right hand of Baltimore starter Brandon Young in the fifth. The 26-year-old righty was making his fifth MLB start, and he opened the game by carving through a challenging New York lineup.
Young’s night reached an apex in the fifth, when he became only the fifth pitcher in O’s history to toss an immaculate inning. Baltimore’s No. 19 prospect per MLB Pipeline struck out Jesse Winker, Jeff McNeil and Luis Torrens in order, needing only nine pitches – all strikes – to do so.
When the inning ended, catcher Jacob Stallings threw the ball down to first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, who tossed it into the stands (as players frequently do) without realizing the significance behind it.
We’ll let 11-year-old Colin Brennan -- an Orioles fan from Fallston, Md. -- take it from there.
“After the inning ended, I didn’t really realize that Brandon Young threw an immaculate inning,” Colin said. “And then, the ball went to this guy and he handed it to me after he caught it, and I was like, ‘Thank you.’ And then like an inning or two later, an Orioles worker came down and was like, ‘Hey, did you get the ball? Because Ryan O’Hearn is offering you a signed bat.’”
The ball was retrieved so Young could have a memento. O’Hearn made a young fan’s night. And Brennan’s dad, Mark, bought an adult beverage for the fan who caught the ball and gave it to his son.
Wins all around -- especially for Colin.
“It’ll be fun to see [O’Hearn] in the All-Star Game this year,” Colin said. “That bat, that will be in my room for a long time.”
The night will be as memorable for the youngster as it was for Young.
Through four MLB starts, Young had struggled a bit to find his footing. His first two outings came as spot starts in late April. Now, he’s getting a run in Baltimore’s rotation, which recently lost both righty Zach Eflin (lower back strain) and lefty Cade Povich (left hip inflammation).
Young hadn’t pitched more than 4 2/3 innings in the big leagues before. His first time completing five came in quite the impressive fashion.
Winker led off the top of the fifth and fouled off two pitches before swinging and missing at an 88.1 mph changeup from Young. Then, McNeil fouled off a first-pitch changeup before whiffing at two more.
Finally, Torrens fouled off a pair of pitches before getting set down on Young’s 95.6 mph four-seam fastball that caught the outer portion of the strike zone. It made Young the first O’s hurler to toss an immaculate inning since Kevin Gausman on April 23, 2018, vs. Cleveland.
Young didn’t realize he had achieved the feat until he retreated to the first-base dugout, walked down the tunnel and was told by injured catcher Chadwick Tromp.
“Pretty cool, man,” Young said. “Pretty cool.”
“I don’t know the last time I've seen that, if ever,” O’Hearn added.
Immaculate innings by Orioles pitchers
Jimmy Key -- April 14, 1998, second inning vs. White Sox
Mike Mussina -- May 9, 1998, ninth inning vs. Rays
B.J. Ryan -- Sept. 5, 1999, sixth inning vs. Cleveland
Kevin Gausman -- April 23, 2018, seventh inning vs. Cleveland
Brandon Young -- July 8, 2025, fifth inning vs. Mets
After the immaculate fifth, Young’s previously scoreless night took a tough turn. He allowed a game-tying homer to Ronny Mauricio to open the sixth, followed by back-to-back doubles to Brett Baty and Brandon Nimmo that gave the Mets a 2-1 lead.
Young exited after getting Francisco Lindor to fly out on his 66th pitch of the outing, 47 of them strikes. Left-hander Gregory Soto preserved Young’s line (two runs allowed with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings) by escaping the sixth without further damage.
Still, it was the most encouraging showing thus far by Young, who was the Orioles’ Jim Palmer Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award winner in 2024.
The Lumberton, Texas, native has hit 95-plus mph 14 times during his rookie campaign, with 10 of them coming Tuesday, as he also threw eight of his nine fastest big league pitches.
“The fastball jumping out of his hand, A, and B, I think the split was good,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said of the reasoning for Young’s improved results. “He threw some good ones.”
It wasn’t only a special start for Young, but one that could set him up for more outings like it.
“Overall, I felt good. I felt I had command of not just one or two pitches, but a couple, and kept them on their toes. I worked the fastball pretty good early on,” Young said. “I feel like I’m getting better, learning a few things. Confidence builder tonight.”