May 12, 2026

Goldschmidt Sets the Tone, Grisham Delivers the Punch, and the Yankees Handle Baltimore

Yankees

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The Yankees finally stopped the bleeding.

The Yankees needed this one.

After four straight losses, after that ugly stretch where the bats went quiet and the whole thing started feeling a little too familiar, New York walked into Camden Yards and punched first. Literally on the first pitch.

Paul Goldschmidt wasted zero time, jumping Trevor Rogers for a leadoff home run to left field. First pitch of the game. Boom. Yankees up 1-0 before Baltimore even had a chance to breathe.

That matters. When a team is dragging through a losing streak, sometimes you need somebody to stop all the cute stuff and just set the tone. Goldschmidt did exactly that.

And the Yankees never gave the lead back.

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The Third Inning Was the Game

The Yankees really broke this thing open in the third. Austin Wells singled. Aaron Judge walked. Ben Rice walked. Bases loaded, one out, pressure on Rogers.

Cody Bellinger brought in a run on a fielder’s choice. Amed Rosario followed with an infield RBI single. Then Trent Grisham did the damage that basically ended the night.

Grisham turned on one and launched a three-run homer to center, making it 6-0 Yankees.

Listen, Grisham is not going to hit .300. Nobody is pretending that. But when he runs into one, he can change a game. And that swing was the difference between “nice early lead” and “Baltimore is in trouble.”

Grisham finished 1-for-3 with a homer, a walk, three RBI, and a run scored. That is a winning box score from the bottom half of the lineup.

Will Warren Gave the Yankees Exactly What They Needed

Will Warren was not perfect, but he was strong. And after the Yankees dropped four in a row, strong was more than enough.

Warren went 5.2 innings, allowed four hits, two earned runs, one walk, and struck out six on 96 pitches. He improved to 5-1 with a 3.42 ERA.

That is a real bounce-back start.

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The Orioles did not get to him until the sixth inning, when Tyler Ward doubled, Samuel Basallo singled him home, and Tyler O’Neill doubled in another run. That cut the lead to 6-2, and yes, for a second, you started thinking, “Here we go.”

But Fernando Cruz came in and shut the inning down. Then Cruz handled the seventh. Jacob Bird got into a little trouble in the eighth, Tim Hill cleaned it up, and David Bednar slammed the door in the ninth.

The bullpen combined for 3.1 scoreless innings. No drama in the ninth. No nonsense. No meltdown. Imagine that.

The Yankees Still Left Too Much Out There

Now, let’s not act like everything was perfect.

The Yankees had nine hits and six walks, but they also left 14 men on base. Ben Rice alone left five runners on. They had chances to completely bury Baltimore and turn this into a laugher.

Also, Max Schuemann was caught stealing twice. Twice. You cannot make this stuff up. The Yankees had the lead, had traffic, and still ran into outs.

But when you win 6-2 after losing four straight, you take it and move on.

Goldschmidt and Judge Stayed on Base

Goldschmidt had a good night at the top: 2-for-4, home run, walk, RBI, and two runs involved in the offense. Judge went 2-for-3 with two walks and scored a run.

That is exactly what the Yankees need from the top of the order. Get on base. Create pressure. Make pitchers work. Let the rest of the lineup find the big swing.

Rice had a hit and a walk. Wells had a hit and scored. Rosario drove in a run before Jazz Chisholm came in later at second base.

Ryan McMahon had another quiet night, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. That bat still needs to wake up.

Volpe Is Back, and That Story Starts Tomorrow

The Yankees also recalled Anthony Volpe from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after José Caballero landed on the injured list with a fractured finger.

Volpe is expected to start the series finale, and let’s be honest, that becomes a real storyline immediately. This is not just a “welcome back” situation. This is a prove-it situation.

The Yankees are winning games. Spots are not guaranteed. If Volpe wants to take shortstop back, he has to earn it right now.

Final Word

This was not a masterpiece, but it was exactly the kind of win the Yankees needed.

Goldschmidt punched first. Grisham landed the knockout swing. Warren gave them a real start. The bullpen finished the job. And the Yankees ended the four-game losing streak with a 6-2 win over the Orioles.

New York is now 27-16, and more importantly, they stopped the skid before it turned into something bigger.

Now they hand the ball to Max Fried in the finale.

Handle business. Win the series. Keep it moving.

Felix Pantaleón Avatar

Felix Pantaleón

Founder

Born in Manhattan, New York, Felix Pantaleon is a Dominican-American digital content creator and the founder of NYYNEWS, one of the first and longest-running independent New York Yankees content creator platforms, active since 2005.

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