Harrison Bader’s homer lifts Yankees in far-from-perfect win over Orioles

Domingo German was far from perfect on Monday night, but neither was the Yankees’ defense. That didn’t matter in the end though, as Harrison Bader locked up a Yankees victory with a three-run blast to deep left in the eighth inning.

Bader, facing southpaw Danny Coulombe, ripped his seventh home run of the year 415 feet. The no-doubter came on a hanger, just missed the second deck and gave the third-place Yankees a 6-3, come-from-behind win over the second-place Orioles in front of a raucous, sellout crowd.

“I just like feeding off the energy in the Bronx, especially in those big situations I’m coming to the plate,” said Bader, who grew up in nearby Bronxville. “It kind of zones me in a little bit.”

The centerfielder also singled in the game.

German, meanwhile, couldn’t make it past the fifth inning in his first start since twirling a perfect game in Oakland on June 28. The right-hander totaled just 4.1 innings while allowing nine hits and three runs. He also struck out five while walking none over 86 pitches.

“My fastball and my other secondary pitches weren’t as sharp as I wanted,” German said. “But credit to them actually. They made adjustments throughout the game and they were able to put the ball in play.”

Only two of German’s runs were earned, as a Bader error preceded a Cedric Mullins RBI single in the second.

Adley Rutschman then hit an RBI double in the third, though Isiah Kiner-Falefa whiffed on the ball while leaping and crashing into the left field wall. While not an error, it was the second catchable ball that Kiner-Falefa failed to come up with during the inning.

Ryan O’Hearn added an RBI single for Baltimore before the third frame came to an end.

The Yankees got on the board in the fifth inning when Nos. 8 and 9 hitters Anthony Volpe and Kyle Higashioka crushed back-to-back home runs. Volpe’s was his 11th of the year, while Higashioka’s fourth of the season made up for a base-running blunder in the third. Both longballs came off starter Tyler Wells, who totaled five hits, two earned runs, two walks and four strikeouts over six innings.

Volpe later tied the game in the seventh when he scored on a wild pitch from Yennier Cano.

“He’s been great. He almost homered his first at-bat, too,” Aaron Boone said of the 22-year-old, red-hot Volpe. “You’re seeing a guy that’s maturing at this level and making adjustments.”

The Yankees’ bullpen kept them in the game all night, as Nick Ramirez logged 1.2 scoreless innings in relief of German. Ian Hamilton, Tommy Kahnle and Clay Holmes then blanked the Orioles for an inning apiece.

“Awesome. Kept us right there,” Boone said of the left-handed Ramirez. “Nick was huge tonight.”

With the series-opener in the books, the Yankees and Orioles will play a Fourth of July matinee on Tuesday. First-pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Clarke Schmidt is scheduled to face Kyle Gibson.

The Yankees have yet to announce their Wednesday starter, but Dean Kremer will take the ball for Baltimore. The struggling Luis Severino is slated to start for the Yankees on Thursday, while Kyle Bradish is lined up for the O’s.

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