BALTIMORE — All the Yankees needed to get their offense going was some help from Mother Nature.
Stuck in another game in which they seemingly couldn’t score a run, the Yankees were down by two runs to the Orioles with Aaron Judge at the plate when a hail storm halted the game for nearly an hour.
When play resumed, the Yankees quickly erupted for four runs in a 5-2 win at Camden Yards on Saturday.
Josh Donaldson provided the big blow, a two-run shot that put the Yankees ahead, as the fifth straight batter to reach base in the inning — a day after 13 in a row had been retired.
“Maybe [the delay] gave us a breath [to say] ‘All right, let’s get back under control,’ ” Donaldson said. “We believe in this lineup and we have the ability to score a lot of runs really quick like we did tonight.”
It had been shaping up to be more of the same for the Yankees, who were shut down through the first four innings by Tyler Wells, the right-hander who gave up four runs and was knocked out in the second inning in his first career start last Sunday against the Rays.
Josh Donaldson points to the crowd after hitting a two-run go-head homer in the fifth inning of the Yankees’ 5-2 win over the Orioles. The blast came after play resumed following a hail storm delay (left). Twitter/@baseballisdead_; APAaron Hicks led off the game with a ground ball single into the shift to the left side of the infield. Aaron Judge followed with a single to center, as the Yankees’ first two batters of the game reached for a second consecutive night.
They failed to capitalize on Friday and did the same on Saturday.
With Anthony Rizzo — currently their best hitter — at the plate, Hicks was caught trying to swipe third with Baltimore again in a shift. Wells’ throw to third baseman Ramon Urias was in plenty of time.
After Rizzo grounded out, Giancarlo Stanton flied to right.
Through three innings, the Yankees were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and fell behind on a two-run homer by Cedric Mullins, who turned on a 3-0 mistake by Jameson Taillon for a 433-foot homer.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa is tagged out at the plate by Anthony Bemboom after trying to score on a fielder’s choice during the sixth inning of the Yankees’ win. APThe Yankees’ offense finally woke up in the fifth, following the hail delay.
With one out and Hicks on first thanks to a walk before the delay, Judge worked a walk against new pitcher Travis Lakins Sr.
Rizzo then came through with a single to right that scored Hicks to make it 2-1.
Stanton followed with a booming double to the wall in center. It drove in Judge to tie the game. Third base coach Luis Rojas sent Rizzo and he was thrown out at home thanks to a strong throw by shortstop Jorge Mateo.
But the slumping Donaldson crushed a two-run homer to center to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead.
“We trust the guys in this locker room and what we’re doing up there,’’ Donaldson said. “It seemed like guys were more in control, which led us to have success.”
Taillon came back out to pitch the bottom of the fifth and immediately gave up a deep fly ball to Rougned Odor, a single to Hays and another ball to the track to Mateo before Anthony Bemboom walked on four pitches to end his night.
Left-hander JP Sears came in to face the lefty-swinging Mullins in Sears’ second MLB appearance. He walked Mullins to load the bases loaded, but got Urias to fly out to right.
The Yankees added to the Yankees’ lead in a wild top of the sixth, as they knocked Lakins out with a Isiah Kiner-Falefa single and a Jose Trevino double. With the infield in, Hicks grounded to short and Kiner-Falefa was out at home. Judge followed by reaching on catcher’s interference to load the bases for Rizzo. A wild pitch by Paul Fry scored Trevino from third to make it 5-2.
Sears left with two on and two out in the sixth, replaced by Michael King, who walked Hays on four pitches to load the bases for Mateo.
King recovered to get Mateo swinging. Clay Holmes got the final four outs for the save.
