Yankees go 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, fall to Orioles 

BALTIMORE — A Yankees offense that produced 30 runs and 37 hits in overwhelming the Brewers on Saturday and Sunday was shut out Monday night.

Hat tip to just-retired Yankees radio play-by-play legend John Sterling. That’s baseball, Suzyn.

The Yankees fell to the defending AL East champion Orioles, 2-0, in the opener of a four-game series at Camden Yards. They were held to seven hits by Grayson Rodriguez and three relievers.

“One of those nights, frustrating, because you put together some good at-bats but aren’t able to break through,” said Aaron Boone, whose team went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 in getting shut out for the fifth time this season.

After surrendering a home run by leadoff batter Gunnar Henderson on his seventh pitch of the game, Clarke Schmidt was very good, allowing that one run, three hits and three walks in 5 2⁄3 innings in which he struck out five and lowered his ERA to 3.19.

The Yankees fell to 19-11. The Orioles, who received 5 2⁄3 scoreless innings from Rodriguez — who came in 3-1 but with a 4.45 ERA — are 18-10.

“You have to tip your cap sometimes. They’re making their pitches,” said Aaron Judge, who went 1-for-4. “But guys were putting the ball in play. That’s all you can ask for in that situation: keep getting guys on base and then try to drive a pitch when you get one. A couple of guys hit some balls hard and it just didn’t fall. It wasn’t our night tonight.”

It was 1-0 going into the bottom of the eighth. With Clay Holmes having taken over for Caleb Ferguson and runners at first and third, Anthony Volpe booted a grounder that should have ended the inning. The error allowed an unearned run charged to Ferguson to score and made it 2-0.

“Just in between everything. What hop, whether to go to second or first,” Volpe said of his fourth error of the season. “Definitely gotta be more decisive.”

Gleyber Torres led off the ninth with a single against Yennier Cano and lefty Danny Coulombe came in to turn around the switch-hitting Oswaldo Cabrera. He hit a long drive to left-center, but the ball was caught in front of the 398-foot sign (which allowed Torres to take second). Trent Grisham flied to center and Volpe grounded to second to end the game and complete an 0-for-4 (with a walk) night.

“Just a couple of feet to the right [where the wall comes in at 376 feet] as you get closer to centerfield, we’ve got a different ballgame,” said Judge, who started in leftfield for the first time in the big leagues and handled the two routine balls hit his way. “He put a good swing on it. That’s all you can do in that situation.”

The Orioles, who had four hits, jumped ahead when Henderson, an early AL MVP candidate, blasted a 2-and-2 curveball 410 feet to right. His 10th homer came off the bat at 112.3 mph.

Henderson fouled off two straight curveballs before connecting on the third.

“I threw him two curveballs that I didn’t execute and he kind of looked awkward on them and I was like, if I can execute one, I should probably be able to get a swing and miss,” Schmidt said. “I got it down, but not down enough.”

The top of the sixth was odd. Anthony Rizzo flipped his bat and trotted halfway down the line after taking a full-count fastball he thought was ball four for a leadoff walk. But plate umpire Ben May called him out on strikes.

Giancarlo Stanton did walk and Austin Wells followed with what looked like a line-drive single, but Stanton was thrown out at second by rightfielder Anthony Santander. Stanton, not the fastest runner, had to hold up at first to see if second baseman Jordan Westburg would catch the liner and was retired on a bang-bang play.

Torres singled to center and Orioles manager Brandon Hyde brought in lefthander Cionel Perez to face Cabrera. He sliced a ground smash right at first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who trotted to the bag for the third out.

“We just didn’t come up with the big hit and, obviously, they kept us in the ballpark,” Boone said. “We just have to keep giving ourselves a chance like that and trust we’ll break through.”

Verdugo on leave. Leftfielder Alex Verdugo, hitting .321 with two homers, five doubles and a .930 OPS in his last 16 games, was placed on the paternity list Monday afternoon. Boone wasn’t sure how long Verdugo will be away from the team. Catcher Carlos Narvaez was recalled from Triple-A Scranton as the corresponding roster move.