It was a first inning Marcus Stroman would like to forget.
Making his first start since Sept. 10, and used only because Nestor Cortes (flexor strain) went on the injured list earlier in the day, the right-hander allowed hits to the first six Orioles he faced in a forgettable three-run opening frame.
It wasn’t like Baltimore hit a bunch of lasers off of him, but balls found holes.
It started when Gunnar Henderson beat out an infield hit, and Jordan Westburg followed with a line drive just out of Anthony Volpe’s reach.
Anthony Santander blooped in a single to center and Colton Cowser plated two runs with a fly ball down the left-field line that Jasson Dominguez overran.
Fortunately for Stroman, Santander was thrown out trying to advance to third, otherwise there would’ve been even more damage.
He was able to limit the Orioles to three runs by getting Cedric Mullins to ground out with two runners on.Â
But it was still a rough night for the veteran right-hander who allowed six runs in 3 ¹/₃ innings in the Yankees’ 9-7 loss.
The Bombers’ magic number to clinch the AL East remains at one.