When Charlie Finley bought the Kansas City Athletics in 1960, he decided that the Yankees were winning Pennants because their right-field foul pole was only 296 feet from home plate. So he built a little bleacher section in the right-field corner at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, and called it the KC Pennant Porch. American League President Will Harridge made him get rid of it.
Since Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened in 1992, the Yankees have usually handled the Baltimore Orioles pretty well there. Oriole management has decided that the reason they keep losing there, to the Yankees and other teams, is that the left-field fence was too short: Both too low in height, and too close to home plate. So they moved the fence back, and raised it in height, sacrificing about 1,000 seats and the revenue thereof for wins -- at least in theory.
This was a move worthy of 1968-82 manager Earl Weaver, who was known to pull all kinds of tricks, winning a 1978 game against the Yankees by being slow to get the tarp onto the field when a rain delay was called.
Last night, the Yankees began a 3-game series against the Orioles at Camden Yards. Home plate umpire Tom Hallion spent the entire game giving low strikes to both teams, but it seemed to hurt the Yankees more: 13 Yankee batters struck out, and if even half of those, 7 out of 13, were based on 3 actual strikes, I would be surprised.
But the Yankees couldn't hit, aside from an RBI single in the 3rd inning by Giancarlo Stanton. Jordan Montgomery pitched 5 shutout innings to start the game, and that nice performance was wasted. Wandy Peralta had nothing in the 6th, and the Orioles tied the game.
Stanton went 3-for-5. The rest of the team went 4-for-32: .125. They loaded the bases in the 6th, but a double play ended the threat. That was the start of 14 straight outs, from innings 6 through 10. Clarke Schmidt inherited the ghost runner in the bottom of the 11th, and walked the bases loaded. Aaron Boone brought in Aroldis Chapman, and he walked home the winning run, although the pitch that was called ball 4 sure looked like a strike to me.
Orioles 2, Yankees 1. WP: Joey Krebhiel (1-0). No save. LP: Schmidt (0-2). One run in 11 innings. Can't really blame the umpire when you do that.
The Yankees are now 4-4. They will send Jameson Taillon to the mound tonight, against Tyler Wells.
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