Last night at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees met the Baltimore Orioles for their first game together in this spring training season. The game-time temperature was a mild 67 degrees, and the game was played with the lights on under partly cloudy skies and with a standing-only Yankee crowd. The Yankees featured Deivi Garcia in his second start of the season, and the Orioles started Tom Eshelman, a right-hander. Last year the Orioles were the second-worst time in baseball after the DetroitTigers.
Deivi Garcia got a great welcome to the mound with Yankee applause. He faced Orioles leadoff hitter Austin Hays, who singled off him. Dwight Smith Jr. lined drove off the wall for a man on second and third off Garcia. Santander stuck out, Renato Nunez struck out singing, and Pedro Severino with two on and two outs, Severino with a passed ball allowing a run, and the Orioles scored two runs in the first. Tom Eshelman took the mound for the Orioles. DJ LeMahieu led off and struck out; Brett Gardner flew out to left. Gleyber Torres hit one foul that was caught for the third out, and the score was Baltimore 2 and the Yankees 0 after one.
At the second, Garcia faced Pat Valaika, who flew out. Stevie Wilkerson flew out, and Richie Martin flew out for the perfect second inning for Garcia. In the bottom, Gary Sanchez, who has yet to impress, was out on a ground out. Luke Voit homered for his first home run of the season. Clint Frazier walked, Tyler Wade grounded out, and Erik Kratz struck out for the Orioles 2-1 lead. In the third, Aroldis Chapman came out for his spring training debut. Chapman struck out Andrew Velazquez. Austin Hays got a standing double. Dwight Smith Jr. ground out, and Santander popped out to Sanchez, and the score remained 2-1 Orioles. In the bottom, Eshelman for a third-inning got Rosell Herrera, DJ LeMahieu got a base hit, and Brett Gardner flew out, and Torres lined out. Orioles 2 Yankees 1.
David Hale, out for the fourth Nunez, reached on a Torres throwing error. Nunez reached second on a wide pitch. Severino stuck out, Valaika walked, but on a wild pitch, Nunez reaches third. Wilkerson ground out, and Richie Martin had a two-run single for the Orioles 4-1 lead. Martin stolen base and Valazquez with two outs struck out to end the inning. Gary Sanchez Struck out, Voit was called out, and Frazier struck out for a three up three down.   Hale put down the Orioles in his half. In the fifth, Hale held down the Orioles and put down three. The Yankees were scoreless in the bottom. In the sixth, the Orioles were scoreless. In the bottom, DJ singled, and Kratz ground out, but DJ moved to second. Rosell Herrera ground out, and Kyle Higashioka ended the half. Yankees were scoreless.
Adam Ottavino started the top of the seventh replaced by Tommy Kahnle, who let Valazquez reach. Wilkerson lined out, Hays popped out, and Smith Jr. struck out. At the bottom, the Yankees could not score on Oriole’s pitching. On the top of the seventh, Chad Green took care of the Yankees. With nothing going on in the last two innings, the Baltimore Orioles picked up another run off Yankee reliever Avilan in the top of the ninth to make it Orioles 5 and the Yankees 1.
The winning pitcher was Eshelman, and the loser was Deivi Garcia, who gave up two runs in the very first inning. Shephard got the save for the Orioles. The Yankees used seven pitchers in the outing with Aroldis Chapman making his one inning spring training debut. He pitched a scoreless third inning. The Baltimore pitching kept the Yankee bats silent through most of the game. The only Yankee run scored was by Luke Voit in the second inning. It was Voit’s first homer of spring training.