BALTIMORE -- As disappointing as this 2018 season has been, the Orioles have made sure to turn their attention to the bright spots, in whatever form they may come.
But even some of the brightest lights have found ways to extinguish themselves. Yefry Ramirez was roughed up in the worst outing of his young career in a 10-2 loss to the Yankees in Game 2 of a twin bill on Monday night at Camden Yards. Danny Valencia's three-run homer sparked the O's to a 5-4 win in the opener.
Heading into the doubleheader, Ramirez, one of six O's pitchers to make their Major League debut this season, had come up big in much-needed situations, whether it be in a spot start or long relief, and he's thrived on the back of a wicked changeup.
But the righty got into trouble early, and he received no run support, as the O's offense didn't get on the board until Timothy Beckham hit a two-run homer the eighth inning.

Brett Gardner led off the nightcap with a single and scored the game's first run two batters later on Didi Gregorius' double. Gardner added a two-run homer to right in the fourth inning to break the game open before logging two more hits in the eighth and ninth innings.
"Once [Ramirez] got out of the first inning, I thought he did pretty well for a couple of innings," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. " ... Good young man, learning on the job a little bit. [Twenty-four] years old, kept us in the game. We just didn't score any runs."

Once a Rule 5 Draft pick by the Yankees, it was important to Ramirez to continue his streak of solid outings, but early on, that proved to be a tall order.
"It felt really good to face them, even though I wanted to have a really good game so that I could show that them that they lost a really good player," Ramirez said though an interpreter. "But things didn't work out my way."

Outside of three perfect innings from rookie Ryan Meisinger, O's relievers Brad Brach and Tanner Scott allowed the Yanks' remaining six runs.
Once considered a top trade chip, Brach has endured his share of struggles lately, giving up at least two runs three times in his past seven outings as his ERA swelled to 4.63.
"I think he's fighting himself a lot, too," Showalter said. "You can tell he's not quite comfortable with his delivery and his command, and he tried a lot of different things over the years. He's had some good spells for us and will again. Tonight, it got away from him."

All-Star shortstop Manny Machado -- the most intriguing trade target on the Os' roster -- addressed reporters about a reported revived interest in the Yankees for his services.
But as he usually does, Machado downplayed the rumors.
"If you want to talk me about something, then talk to me about the game," he said. "Talk to me about something useful, not about rumors. I ain't here to talk about rumors."
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Twice prior to the Yankees' four-run outburst in the eighth inning, the Orioles had a chance to get within striking distance. Chris Davis drew a leadoff walk in the seventh, but he was erased by a double play. Jace Peterson also drew a walk, but he was caught stealing two pitches later during Joey Rickard's at-bat.

"He went on his own, and thought he could steal it," Showalter said of Peterson. "He got a great pitch to go. … It's kind of like the frog bumping himself. You know how that goes. Not a good play. It's a good play if you make it. We're having trouble scoring runs. He's trying to push the envelope a little bit. It didn't work out."
PETERSON DAY TO DAY
Peterson banged his left knee against the left-field wall while attempting to track down Neil Walker's double in the eighth inning. Showalter said the outfielder had X-rays taken and the early prognosis does not seem serious. Showalter added he considered having Peterson pitch late in the game had it not been for the knee injury.

26TH MAN ON THE MOVE
Jimmy Yacabonis, the 26th man for the doubleheader and starter for Game 1, was sent back to Triple-A Norfolk following the nightcap. Showalter said he expects to make additional roster moves ahead of Tuesday's game against the Yankees.

SOUND SMART
Since a two-game stint on the bench for a mental break, second baseman Jonathan Schoop is batting .438 with two home runs and two doubles in his past eight games.
UP NEXT
Orioles right-hander Andrew Cashner (2-9, 4.39 ERA) will be looking to rebound from a loss last time out when he starts against the Yankees at 7:05 p.m. ET on Tuesday at Camden Yards. Cashner, who has five quality starts in his past six outings, is 0-3 in that span. Righty Masahiro Tanaka (7-2, 4.58 ERA) is set to make his first start off the disabled list for New York.