Yankees' late heroics can't slow O's in extras

NEW YORK -- Didi Gregorius sensed victory as he dashed down the third-base line in the 11th inning, instinctively bolting as he recognized the pitch was hurtling toward the backstop. Aaron Judge expected a celebration two innings later, conjuring memories of the postseason by scaling the right-field wall to bring back a home run.
Yet other than a cluttered injury report, the Yankees wound up with little to show for their taxing five-hour, 20-minute tilt. With the clock having moved past midnight on the East Coast, Pedro Alvarez put the finishing touches on a wild and memorable Friday evening, cracking a 14th-inning grand slam that lifted the Orioles to a 7-3 victory at Yankee Stadium.
"Every loss is tough. They're all tough," Judge said. "We've just got to bounce back, get ready in a couple hours and do it all over again. Win a ballgame. We've got a tough team. We're going to go out there and compete in a couple of hours."
Alvarez's decisive blow came off reliever Jonathan Holder, one inning after Judge made a fantastic leaping catch at the right-field wall to end the top of the 13th, stealing what would have been a go-ahead home run from Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph.

After Gregorius tied the game with an eighth-inning homer off Miguel Castro, Baltimore's bullpen pitched scoreless ball. A wild pitch nearly gave the Yankees the game in the 11th, but Mychal Givens deftly blocked home plate, tagging out Gregorius on a headfirst slide.
"[Brett Gardner] actually called it," Judge said. "He said, 'There might be a passed ball here. Be heads up.' I thought Didi had a good jump on it. Bang-bang play at home plate. I'm just happy that Didi's OK, and not hurt."
The Yankees overcame a trio of early blasts by Manny Machado and Chris Davis, pushing the contest into extra innings. Having lacked a homer or an RBI through the first week of their respective campaigns, Machado and Davis broke out against Carsten Sabathia, who lasted four innings before departing due to right hip discomfort.
By the evening's end, Brandon Drury (migraine), Gary Sanchez (right calf cramps) and Tyler Wade (flu-like symptoms) had joined Sabathia in the trainer's room, casualties of this evening of missed opportunities.
"You start thinking back to plays and opportunities that you had," manager Aaron Boone said. "When you exert everyone and you're losing guys like that, it hurts when you lose it."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Twice as nice: Machado's five career homers off Sabathia are his most against any pitcher, and the O's shortstop enjoyed the 15th multi-homer game of his career as he went deep in the first and third innings. Machado slugged a 78.3-mph slider into the second deck in left field to open scoring, then launched an 88.8-mph fastball into the visiting bullpen to briefly give Baltimore another lead. More >
Stop right there: With two out in the 11th and Christopher Austin at the plate, Givens uncorked a wild pitch that sent Gregorius dashing home. Givens received the throw from Joseph in time to slap a tag on Gregorius, who never touched home plate because he was blocked by a sliding Givens. It was determined that Givens did not violate the home plate collision rule. More >

"We challenged, obviously, the blocking of the plate," Boone said. "I thought he did block the plate before he got there. We certainly thought that. But I understand that's a difficult call to make in that situation. It didn't go our way."
"If he's going to receive the ball in that situation, then he's allowed to occupy that space if he's in the act of receiving it." crew chief Jerry Meals said.
MITEL REPLAY OF THE DAY
The Yankees successfully challenged a call at first base in the 11th inning, as Ronald Torreyes was initially ruled out on the back end of a 5-4-3 double play. After a review, it was determined that Torreyes' right foot touched the base before first baseman Trey Mancini received the throw and the call was overturned.

BY THE RULES
Orioles manager Buck Showalter unsuccessfully lobbied for a double play to be called in the sixth inning, noting Rule 5.06(b) after Neil Walker's tapper back to the mound off Richard Bleier involved Giancarlo Stanton in a rundown between third base and home plate.

Sanchez reached third before Stanton touched the bag, running into foul territory in left field. Joseph, the catcher, tagged both Stanton and Sanchez. Showalter held up two fingers, telling Meals that Sanchez should also be called out, as the rules indicate that he may be deemed to have passed Stanton.
"We were incorrect," Meals said. " ... Sanchez should have been out automatically for passing Stanton. Then, Stanton had the right to come back and touch third before being tagged, or be called out for abandoning his effort."

Sanchez remained at third base, and Showalter indicated that he intended to protest the game. Pinch-hitter Torreyes then grounded out, ending the inning.
WHAT'S NEXT
Right-hander Sonny Gray will make his second start of the season on Saturday in the third game of this series at 1:05 p.m. ET. Gray has excelled in April over his career, going 10-3 with a 2.52 ERA in 16 starts. The ERA is his lowest in any calendar month.
Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.