– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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BALTIMORE — The belief in the power of positive thinking is something that New York Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham has taken to heart in what has been a disappointing season for New York’s center fielder. He tapped into that same optimistic outlook tonight as he made sure the Yankees’ best chance to take control of a nip-and-tuck contest was not wasted.
Grisham drove in all three runs for New York on Tuesday, including a game-tying two-run single with two outs in the seventh as the Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 inside Oriole Park at Camden Yards to begin the first of a three-game set between the American League East rivals. Carlos Rodón made his first start for the Yankees since June 28 and allowed two hits and a run in four innings< before five New York relievers combined to shut out Baltimore the rest of the way.
Grisham spent almost the entire first two months of the season residing south of the Mendoza Line with his batting average, and even after a brief good run of form in June, came into August after batting a measly .165 in July. That certainly isn’t cutting it with the standards both he and the Yankees have, and the extended injury absences of Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton magnify his struggles — and also has made his month of August, in which he’s slashing .281/.305/.684 with 11 extra-base hits, all the more encouraging.
One of those 11 hits for extra bases included his 17th home run of the season in the third inning, yet it was his single in the seventh that had the most impact. The Yankees loaded the bases with one out with the score tied 1-1 and were on the verge of squandering their chance to take the lead after Amed Rosario struck out and Grisham, the next hitter, found himself down 0-2 in the count. After working the count back even, Grisham laced a single to center that scored Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr. to give the Yankees the lead once again.
“Stay in it. Stay in the fight,” Grisham said. “Don’t let circumstances dictate how I’m thinking. If I get out, I get out. If he makes his pitch, he makes his pitch. But it’s not going to be because I think my way out of an at-bat.”
The Orioles had won five straight games going into Monday and temporarily moved into the final Wild Card position in the American League before failing to sweep Tampa Bay in a defeat yesterday and now tonight’s loss. Coby Mayo homered off New York starter Will Warren in the third to immediately match Grisham’s solo blast and tie the game. It was with runners on base when the Orioles struggled, going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Three of those at-bats came in the bottom of the seventh after the Yankees retook the lead, when Leody Taveras singled and Christian Franklin walked to begin the frame. Jeremiah Jackson struck out before Jackson Holliday flew out to left and, after a Yankees pitching change, Pete Alonso lined out to third to end the threat.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Tuesday evening’s game, with photos taken by staff photographer Timothy Rice. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 27 pictures in total.
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