Trey Gibson’s debut is solid, but Orioles fall apart late in loss to Yankees

NEW YORK — One of the first things a pitcher might notice when he steps onto a Major League Baseball mound for the first time is the third deck of seats behind home plate. Look up from the field and this will all sink in — you’re not in Norfolk anymore, Trey Gibson.

These stadiums are bigger. The lights are brighter. The competition is better. The minor leagues are one thing, and this is another.

But if Gibson looked at his cleats, he’d see the familiar dirt slope. If he looked straight on, he’d see a catcher 60 feet and 6 inches away. And while the likes of Aaron Judge, Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger dug into the batter’s box to face him, he still gripped a baseball, just as he has his whole life.

The 23-year-old Gibson did not seem to allow the eye-widening dimensions of Yankee Stadium nor his high-level opponents rattle him. It was almost the opposite — an at-ease kid taking this all in stride.

When manager Craig Albernaz came to the mound to take the ball from him with two outs in the fifth inning, Gibson laughed. He appeared to joke with his new manager about getting to face another hitter. But, with a pat on the chest and a slap on his butt, Albernaz sent the rookie to the dugout, a strong debut finished.

What Gibson showed in 4 2/3 innings during the Yankees’ runaway 11-3 win against the Orioles on Sunday was promising. It wasn’t perfect — two hanging curveballs resulted in home runs from Rice and Judge — but Gibson showed mettle. He showed he can hang at this level.

The rest of the game, including a seven-run eighth inning for New York, was less pleasant viewing.

With his parents and high school coach at Yankee Stadium for his debut, Gibson allowed four hits and three runs. He walked a pair and struck out two. His “death ball” slider, a gyro-type pitch that dives rather than breaking horizontally, earned him his first career strikeout, with Austin Wells unable to hold his swing.

The defense did Gibson no favors, though, and that continued a troubling trend for Baltimore. Third baseman Weston Wilson muffed a grounder from Judge in the first, which allowed the slugger to reach second with one out. Gibson, who had allowed a homer to Rice already in that frame, worked out of danger.

In the second, Ryan McMahon’s double to left field may have been playable for Taylor Ward. Instead, Ward pulled up to play it off the wall, choosing the safer route. And in the third Rice’s bloop down the left field line wasn’t caught by Wilson or Ward. That put a runner on base ahead of Judge, who followed with a home run.

Gibson departed in a tie game because the Orioles, sporting a fully right-handed lineup, pressured left-hander Max Fried throughout the hurler’s outing. They lacked the decisive blow, however, such as when Jeremiah Jackson grounded into a double play with the bases loaded and no outs.

Still, it was a better showing against Fried than Baltimore has managed against some southpaws this season. Blaze Alexander blooped an RBI single in the third — and was thrown out when he stumbled between first and second — and two runs scored in the fourth when Leody Taveras reached on an infield single and Jackson followed with that double play.

Had Baltimore taken advantage of that opportunity, Gibson may have been in line for a win in his debut. Instead, the Yankees retook the lead against left-hander Grant Wolfram in the sixth after Jasson Domínguez doubled and McMahon scored him with an infield single.

Coby Mayo, playing first, snared McMahon’s grounder with a lunging effort. He tried to throw home to nab Domínguez but lost his handle on the ball and couldn’t record an out at first, either.

For a day full of promise — a debut for Baltimore’s top pitching prospect — the familiar issues arose. The defense was again problematic, and a lineup that didn’t include Gunnar Henderson for the first time this season couldn’t make Fried pay for his uncharacteristic shakiness.

Baltimore grounded into three double plays. The Orioles have yet to win a game this season when the opposition starts a left-hander.

And, although this game was close for a large portion, it fell apart for Baltimore in the eighth. The Yankees built on their lead by scoring seven runs against right-hander Andrew Kittredge. Domínguez clubbed a two-run homer, breaking the dam open. Kittredge allowed four of the next five batters to reach safely, and the lone out came on a sacrifice fly ball.

Even after left-hander Dietrich Enns entered, the Yankees kept adding. Another sacrifice fly and a Domínguez double brought home the final two of the frame and ushered in a new low for Baltimore this year.

So, even as Gibson gutted through a challenging debut, the Orioles lost their fourth straight game to reach a low-water mark of 15-19. New York has won 11 of its last 12 matchups with Baltimore. And it won’t get easier Monday in the series finale, with right-hander Cam Schlittler on the mound for the Yankees.

This article will be updated.