'Another tough loss': Judge's return spoiled by O's

BALTIMORE -- Absent from the lineup for nearly two months, Aaron Judge’s eye appeared to be in midseason form, the slugger choosing pitches carefully to work three walks. Yet that patience couldn’t flip the script for the Yankees, who ran out of time in a showdown with the American League East’s top team.

Anthony Santander’s walk-off homer upstaged Judge’s long-awaited return, as the Yankees’ offense was silenced in a 1-0 loss to the Orioles on Friday night at Camden Yards.

“Everybody going up to the plate, they’re confident; they’re swinging the bats,” Judge said. “We just didn’t see the results we wanted to. These guys are all professionals in this room, and you’ve got to bounce back after a tough loss like this.”

Santander sent a Tommy Kahnle changeup over the right-field wall in the bottom of the ninth inning, representing the contest's only run after Orioles rookie Grayson Rodriguez and four relievers silenced the Bombers’ bats following a two-hour, 32-minute rain delay.

“It’s another tough loss,” said Gerrit Cole, who continued to bolster his case for the American League Cy Young Award with seven excellent innings. “I think when we’re evaluating tonight’s game, it’s just, what can we do to get a little bit better? Just take that lead at some point during that game. We’re battling with these guys, every single pitch.”

The Yankees posted the Majors’ lowest batting average (.220), fourth-lowest OPS (.670) and third-lowest runs per game (3.9) during Judge’s absence, beginning on June 4, the first day he missed after tearing a ligament in his right big toe at Dodger Stadium.

Those doldrums carried over as Judge’s appearance in the No. 2 slot, serving in the designated hitter role, did not spark an immediate breakout for the rest of the lineup. Judge lined out to right field on the first pitch he saw in the first inning, then walked in the fourth, sixth and eighth innings.

“I felt all right. I think I was a little jumpy to begin with,” Judge said. “After my second at-bat, swinging at a high fastball, I told myself to take it easy a little bit. Just put a good at-bat out there, and if you have a good pitch to hit, take your swing.”

Said Cole: “The discipline tonight is a true sign of a great hitter, just heightened awareness of the strike zone. So disciplined with what he wants to swing at, what he doesn’t want to swing at. He’s obviously a tone-setter for us.”

Manager Aaron Boone said that he thought Judge looked comfortable physically, and he did not sense the Orioles were pitching around Judge, who saw 19 pitches. Boone said he thought the O’s were “respecting who was in the box,” and that was certainly the case for Rodriguez, who gushed about facing Judge.

“That was fun,” Rodriguez said. “Finally getting to see him in the box, first time I’ve ever faced him, it was a blast. Getting to see him walk up there and the fans’ reactions and stuff to that, that’s an iconic player."

Rodriguez received a standing ovation of his own as he exited, having tossed a career-high 6 1/3 innings. What solid contact the Yanks mustered against Rodriguez and the bullpen was vacuumed up by the O’s, who put on a defensive clinic.

Anthony Volpe was robbed of hits twice, by third baseman Ramón Urías in the fifth inning and by right fielder Santander in the eighth. Second baseman Adam Frazier also took a hit away from Anthony Rizzo in the eighth, while Gleyber Torres’ 15-game hit streak was snapped.

“We gave ourselves some opportunities,” Cole said. “We just couldn’t come through with the one hit. We’re right there. It’s just going to take one or two more swings to push us over the edge in a game like that.”

The defeat -- New York’s seventh in walk-off fashion this year -- wasted another strong effort by Cole, who permitted just three hits, did not walk a batter and struck out five, firing a season-high 110 pitches. His 2.64 ERA paces the AL, just behind the Padres’ Blake Snell (2.61) for the Major League lead.

“That’s why he starts All-Star Games, and that’s why he pitches big games in October,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “I’ve seen it for a long time.”

Judge figures to have more opportunities to impact the Yankees’ lineup this weekend. Though Boone has said that he does not expect to play Judge in all three games of the Baltimore series, Judge is not so quietly hoping to change the manager’s mind.

“I’m trying to play every one,” Judge said. “I’ve got a lot of missed time. I’ve got to get back out there.”