NEW YORK — Kyle Bradish shrugged toward first base umpire Dan Merzel, then put his right hand in his glove to mimic the check-swing New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge had taken moments earlier. Baffled that Merzel had ruled Judge didn’t swing despite thrusting his bat forward to dodge an up-and-in fastball with two strikes, the Orioles’ rookie right-hander took a cut himself to express his displeasure.
A pitch later, Bradish elicited another check-swing from Judge, with Merzel this time ruling he crossed the plane to end the inning and leave the bases loaded in Sunday’s second inning. It marked Bradish’s second strikeout of Judge, with Bryan Baker adding a third on the day and sixth of the series in the seventh as the Orioles beat the Yankees, 3-1, to earn a series victory while keeping Judge at 61 home runs, tied for the most in American League history.
The Orioles’ two wins in the three-game series pushed them to 82 on the year, their first winning season since 2016 and a 30-game improvement from 2021.
