Young pitches well in Orioles’ 6-3 loss to Yankees in 2nd game; Henderson says right wrist has been bothering him

NEW YORK—In what could have been the last game of the Orioles’ season, Brandon Young continued to show that he’s a key part of the team’s future.

With Colton Cowser, Gunnar Henderson and Christian Encarnacion-Stran not playing, Young didn’t have many quality bats to depend on.

In five innings, Young allowed a run on two hits as the Orioles lost to the New York Yankees, 6-3, before 46,656 at Yankee Stadium on Friday night in the second game of a doubleheader.

The Orioles won the first game, 10-2, as Pete Alonso hit two home runs.

Friday night’s loss guaranteed a second consecutive losing season for the Orioles (79-82). In 2025, they were 75-87.

“Upset the way it ended,” Young said. “I wanted to go back out. There’s really no need to push it anymore. Combined between here and Triple-A, it was like 180 innings. Pretty fortunate, grateful for it.”

Major League Baseball wants teams to attempt to complete the 162-game schedule, and heavy rain was forecast for Saturday, so that game was moved to Friday afternoon.

Sunday’s forecast also calls for heavy rain, but 161 games played is better than 160.

Young (9-6) made a giant leap forward this season. The only run he allowed came in the fifth when Ryan McMahon’s double scored Austin Wells, who walked. Young allowed three walks and struck out six.

“Stepping up and solidifying that rotation spot,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “He really held it down for us. The way he pitched, he consistently got better with each start. Even today, the slider looked great, and that’s one of the pitches he’s been working on. He did an outstanding job for us all season, and especially tonight.”

Josh Walker’s streak of 21 consecutive scoreless outings came to an end in the sixth on Spencer Jones’ RBI single. Anthony Volpe’s two-run double against Anthony Nunez put New York (93-68) ahead, 4-0.

Heliot Ramos and Luis Garcia Jr. had RBI singles in the seventh.

The Orioles outhit the Yankees, 11-8, but struck out 17 times, left 13 runners on and were 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Will Warren (11-6) threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings as the bulk pitcher.

The Orioles scored on Leody Taveras’ sacrifice fly in the seventh. They scored twice in the ninth against Alexander Cornielle, who was making his major league debut.

Dylan Beavers hit his ninth home run, and Taveras had an RBI double before Rece Hinds and Christian Frankline struck out. It was Hinds’ fifth strikeout.

Was Henderson hurt? Henderson didn’t play in Friday’s second game, and he’s ending a disappointing season with a .226 average. He said that he’s been dealing with a right wrist injury.

“I really don’t like making excuses because everybody’s banged up at this point in the year,” he said. “I had a little wrist issue going on, but I feel the bat knob changes helped that out getting that a little bit better.

“Everybody’s banged up at this point in the year, so it just sucks that it happened, so it is what it is.”

Henderson said he was dealing with it for perhaps half the season, and he didn’t foresee surgery being necessary.

What does it mean? Young has proven himself at the big league level, and the Orioles look as if they have a real find with him.

“Just proved to myself that I could do this,” Young said. “Felt good today, felt good tonight.”

What’s the stat of the day? 1. Catcher Yohel Pozo stole his first base in his 125^th career game.

What’s the word? “This is his first full season in the big leagues. I think we all saw how he’s able to make adjustments from start to start.”-Albernaz on Young.

What’s next? Despite an unfavorable weather forecast for Sunday, the Orioles and Yankees are scheduled to play at 3:20 p.m. Shane Baz (6-5, 4.11) is scheduled to start for the Orioles. The Yankees have yet to name theirs.

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com