See ya, Oriole Park! Soto blasts one to Eutaw Street

BALTIMORE -- The stare was ice cold, displayed immediately after Juan Soto launched one deep for what would be announced as the second-longest homer to reach Eutaw Street. The Yankees slugger flipped his bat dismissively, then savored his trot around the bases.

There had been beef between Soto and Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer, the gritty details of which Soto said he’d keep to himself. Though Soto won that showdown, Kremer and the O’s claimed victory, handing the Yankees a 4-2 loss on Tuesday at Camden Yards.

• The keys to Soto’s hot start

“It was part of the game. We were going back and forth,” Soto said. “He didn’t like the shuffle. I bet he didn’t like the homer, too.”

Soto’s monstrous drive one-hopped against the right-field warehouse, with his team-leading eighth homer traveling a Statcast-projected 447 feet. Though only Gunnar Henderson (462 feet on June 11, 2023) has hit a Eutaw Street homer longer than Soto, the drive represented the last gasp of the Yankees’ boom-or-bust offense.

Baltimore held the Yankees in check for a second consecutive evening, with Kremer scattering just four hits over seven innings, including Austin Wells’ third-inning homer. Kremer kept the bats quiet by inducing three double-play grounders, and the Yanks had only one at-bat with a runner in scoring position.

“We’re all grinding, we’re all trying to get some runs on the board,” Soto said. “But things aren’t going our way. We hit the ball hard, we hit the ball in the gaps. They’re making great plays and diving all over the place. We’re giving good at-bats with contact, we’re hitting the ball hard. They just haven’t landed for us.”

The Yankees (19-12) finished April in second place in the American League East, one game behind the O's (19-10).

“Overall, I think it was a pretty good month for us,” said pitcher Nestor Cortes. “There’s a lot of positives, and a lot of things that we can work on that we could be better, for sure. We could have probably won four out of those 12 games that we lost.”

Cortes took the loss after being knocked for four runs and eight hits over six innings. Cortes’ shakiest inning was the fourth, when he was peppered with contact leading to three runs.

Baltimore’s athleticism and speed shone in the frame, with run-scoring hits by James McCann, Henderson and Adley Rutschman.

“I think they’ve had a lot of good bounces go their way,” Wells said.

Perhaps, but these first two games in the Inner Harbor have represented a cold splash of reality for the Bombers, who were flying high after scoring 30 runs over their final two games against the Brewers in Milwaukee.

Most notably, New York’s defense has not been crisp. In the second inning, Anthony Rizzo and Soto converged on an Anthony Santander popup that tipped off Rizzo’s glove for a double. It was a play that Soto could have pursued more aggressively.

“I think I had a better shot than him,” Soto said. “I just didn’t call it because when I was about to call, I think I was too far, and he probably wouldn’t hear me. He seemed like he had a good route. I just let him do his thing.”

Gleyber Torres then fielded a grounder hit by Jordan Westburg and attempted to nab Santander at third base. Torres’ throw hit Santander, who scampered home with the O’s first run.

Torres tried a similar play on April 16 in Toronto; that time, the runner was called safe after a review.

“I don’t hate it,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He got to it quick, he moved his feet properly. You’ve just got to make sure you see the open lane there [to throw]. They probably score a run there anyway if he goes to first with it. That’s certainly not what beat us.”

Though the Yanks would prefer to flush most of this game, there will be a permanent marker installed on Eutaw Street, representing the landing spot of Soto’s homer. It was the Yankees’ 11th ever to land on Eutaw Street (done by eight different players).

Paul O’Neill was the first Yankee to achieve it, exactly 28 years ago on April 30, 1996. Other Yankees to reach the street include: Jason Giambi (three times), Johnny Damon, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson (two times) and Didi Gregorius.

“We’ve just got to focus on the future and the present right now,” Soto said. “We had a good month and I hope we have another great month. The Orioles have a good team, but we’re going to try our best to win more games.”