NEW YORK (AP) Brandon Hyde stood outside the Baltimore Orioles clubhouse, his uniform and jacket reeking of Budweiser, syrup and a few other liquids. He had wondered what it would feel like to win his first game as a major league manager but had never given much thought to the scent.
”I don’t know what this smell is, but whatever it is, I’ll take it,” he said with a grin as drips fell.
Slow-footed catcher Jesus Sucre was aggressive on the bases to score the go-ahead run in a two-run sixth inning, then added three late RBIs Saturday.
A day of milestones culminated in a 5-3 victory over the New York Yankees.
Nate Karns started in his first appearance since May 2017, Jimmy Yacabonis won for the first time since September 2017 and Mike Wright struck out Miguel Andujar with two on for his first save in nine professional seasons. After losing 115 games last year, the Orioles at 1-1 reached .500 for the first time since the second game of last season.
Hyde had managed a big league game just once previously, as Florida Marlins bench coach filling in during a 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay in June 2011 after Edwin Rodriguez quit. A Chicago Cubs coach for the past five seasons, the 45-year-old was hired in December and started with a 7-2 defeat to the Yankees in Thursday’s opener.
Chris Davis was the ringleader as players picked up Hyde and dumped him into a laundry basket.
”I got pushed in a cart and ended in the bathroom and then got showered with who knows what?” Hyde said. ”I enjoyed every second of it.”
Karns became the first opener in the major leagues this season, surviving a bases-loaded jam in the first to throw two shutout innings. His 2017 season was cut short by surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome; he returned to make four spring-training starts last year, then missed the season because of right elbow inflammation.
He loaded the bases with one out in the first with consecutive walks to Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Luke Voit.
”I was kind of like, what did I get myself into?” Karns said.
Pitching coach Doug Brocail went to the mound and told Karns to throw home if Andujar hit a comebacker. When Karns fielded a one-hopper on the mound, he instinctively turned to second, then made the toss to Sucre at the plate to start a 1-2-3 double play .
”I was doing a little bit of a 360 out there,” Karns said.
Yacabonis (1-0), a 27-year-old righty who lives in Matawan, New Jersey, followed and allowed one run over three innings, on an RBI single by DJ LeMahieu in the fourth that nicked off the outstretched glove of shortstop Richie Martin. Yacabonis made his debut at Yankee Stadium in June 2017 and got his only previous wins that Sept. 1 and 3 at Toronto.
Baltimore rallied in the sixth against James Paxton (0-1) when Sucre and Martin singled, and Sucre tagged and went to third on Jonathan Villar’s 236-foot fly to center. He just beat Brett Gardner’s throw.
”It was kind of scary,” Sucre said, ”but made it.”
He tied the score on Dwight Smith’s single . Catcher Gary Sanchez’s wild throw on a double steal, the second of three New York errors, allowed the go-ahead run in.
Sucre added an RBI single in the seventh off Chad Green and a two-run double in the ninth against Jonathan Holder for a 5-1 lead, tying his career high with three hits.
Troy Tulowitzki led off the bottom half against Richard Bleier with his first home run since July 8, 2017. LeMahieu doubled to go 2 for 4 in his Yankees debut, Judge hit a one-out single.
Wright struck out on a full-count slider and Voit popped a run-scoring single into the triangle between sprinting right fielder Joey Rickard, center fielder Cedric Mullins and Villar, with the ball nicking Rickard’s glove. Wright fanned out Andujar with a slider and pounded a fist into his glove.
”You could tell I was a little pumped, a little jacked, obviously for the team but also for myself,” Wright said.
New York has not opened with consecutive wins since 2011.
Paxton, a 30-year-old left-hander acquired from Seattle on Nov. 18, dominated with one-hit ball through five innings. He allowed two runs – one earned – and four hits in 5 2/3 innings, mixing a fastball at up to 98 mph with cutters and knuckle-curves. He saluted fans when he walked to the dugout.
”I was pretty excited, nervous, all that stuff, but I felt good about it and just let it energize me,” he said.
On the other side of the stadium, Hyde thought ahead to the glow of October wins.
”When you’re in the postseason,” he said, ”this is how you want to be after every game.”
BENCHED
Davis was out of the lineup after going 0 for 3 with three strikeouts in the opener.
OPENERS
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he may use an opener Monday against Detroit, then bring in RHP Domingo German.
LIGHT YEAR
Energy-efficient lighting has been installed in both clubhouses, with 24 fixtures on the ceiling of the Yankees room. The color can be adjusted from white to yellow. The gray concrete floor of the tunnel in Yankee Stadium’s basement has been painted dark blue.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: RHP Alex Cobb (strained right groin) pitched in a minor league exhibition Friday and is on track to start the Orioles’ home opener against the Yankees next Thursday.
Yankees: OF Aaron Hicks, sidelined since straining his back during pregame batting practice in March 1, is feeling better and will soon resume baseball activities, Boone said,
UP NEXT
LHP J.A. Happ starts Sunday’s series finale for the Yankees and RHP Dylan Bundy for the Orioles.
—
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
25% Bonus via Western Union
