Yankees' Randy Vasquez throws five scoreless innings against Orioles

Randy Vasquez couldn’t have done much better his previous time on a big-league mound when the Yankees needed him for spot-starting duty.

It was June 8, the second game of a doubleheader against the White Sox, and the 24-year-old delivered.

Taking the mound after Luis Severino had a rough go of it in a Game 1 loss, Vasquez allowed just two hits over 5 2/3 scoreless innings of a Yankees’ victory in Game 2, an outing in which the pitcher retired 15 straight at one point.

“All of his stuff was playing,” Aaron Boone said that night of Vasquez’s repertoire, which typically includes a sinker, cutter, breaking ball and four-seam fastball.

The rookie wasn’t quite that good Wednesday night, but he still more than gave the Yankees a chance against the Orioles.

Though allowing a bit more traffic this time around, Vasquez managed to throw five scoreless innings. The righthander, battling command issues at times, allowed three hits and three walks with one strikeout. Vasquez, now with a 1.17 ERA in three starts, threw 75 pitches (49 strikes). 

After Vazquez stranded a runner in top of the fifth, his final inning, he was in position to pick up his second straight win, courtesy of Josh Donaldson’s homer leading off the bottom half, which snapped a scoreless tie.  

Later in the same inning there was a 17-minute delay as a cameraman at the far end of the Yankees’ dugout was hit by an errant relay throw by Orioles shortstop Gunner Henderson on an Anthony Volpe grounder to second that had the looks off the bat of a 4-6-3 double play (Volpe was awarded second on the throwing error).

The Orioles were pulled off the field as the cameraman was tended to – with plenty of concerned Yankees players and staff standing quietly nearby – and ultimately taken from the field on a stretcher. After the delay, Kyle Higashioka’s two-out single to right brought in Volpe to make it 2-0 (Nick Ramirez and Michael King combined to allow four runs in the sixth as the Orioles took a 4-2 lead).

Vasquez worked out of trouble in the first.

Adley Rutschman sent a 0-and-1 cutter past a diving DJ LeMahieu at second for a one-out single and Anthony Santander worked a seven-pitch walk to give the Orioles a runner in scoring position.

Vasquez got out of the jam though. He got Ryan O’Hearn to ground into a 4-6 fielder’s choice, which put runners at the corners, and got ahead of Cedric Mullins, 0-and-2, before the centerfielder eventually popped to second to end the 22-pitch inning.

After Baltimore righthander Dean Kremer retired the Yankees in order on 15 pitches in the bottom half, Vasquez quickly retired the first two hitters of the second.

Aaron Hicks, designated for assignment by the Yankees May 20 and scooped up by the Orioles not too long after, led off the inning and, after the boos died down, popped a first-pitch, 95-mph fastball to third. Colton Cowser hit a liner right at Volpe for the second out. Vasquez walked Jordan Westburg but got Adam Frazier to fly to the track in center.

Vasquez caught a break in the third. Henderson led off with a single and, with Rutschman up, took off for second. But Rutschman swung at the pitch and hit a soft liner to right. Giancarlo Stanton made the catch and easily doubled Henderson off for the double play. Santander came next and sliced a ground rule double down the leftfield line and Vasquez walked O’Hearn. The rookie pitcher escaped again, striking out Mullins swinging at an 0-and-2 changeup. Through three innings the Orioles had stranded five.

Vasquez thought he had Frazier struck out to start the fifth, but the Orioles challenged, claiming Higashioka was guilty of catcher’s interference. Replay showed Higashioka’s glove clearly impeded Frazier’s swing and the second baseman was awarded first. Vasquez shrugged it off, retiring Henderson on a pop up to short, Rutschman on a comebacker to the mound and Santander on a bouncer to first.