The Orioles lost 9-0 to the Yankees on June 21, 2025, but the bigger blow was Adley Rutschman's oblique injury. How will Baltimore cope without their star?
StatPro MLB Beat Reporter
If you were looking for a perfect storm of bad news, Saturday in the Bronx delivered it on a silver platter. Not only did the Baltimore Orioles get completely dismantled by the New York Yankees in a 9-0 blowout, but they also lost the heart and soul of their team, placing star catcher Adley Rutschman on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain. It was a day where everything that could go wrong, did.
The Orioles managed just 4 hits and left 7 runners on base in the 9-0 defeat, their second straight loss to New York.
Long after the final out was recorded, the news that will linger is the loss of Adley Rutschman. The All-Star catcher was placed on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain, an injury notorious for its tricky recovery timeline. Rutschman is the engine of this team, both at the plate and behind it, and his absence creates a massive void. Gary Sánchez will now take over primary catching duties, with Maverick Handley recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to serve as the backup. While Sánchez provides power, replacing Rutschman's overall impact is an impossible task for any single player.
On the field, the game was over almost before it began. Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt was masterful, tossing seven shutout innings and baffling Orioles hitters all afternoon. The New York offense, meanwhile, pounced on O's starter Zach Eflin early and often. Trent Grisham led off the scoring with a solo homer in the 1st, followed by back-to-back jacks from Jose Escarra and Ben Rice in the 2nd inning. Eflin was chased after just 4.1 innings, charged with six earned runs. The Baltimore offense was a ghost, mustering just four hits and failing to string together any meaningful threats.
The loss drops the Orioles to a season-low 10 games under .500 at 33-43. What was once a season of promise is quickly turning into a struggle for identity. Losing a series to a division rival is always tough, but getting shut out while losing your best player feels like a turning point in the wrong direction. The offense has been inconsistent, and now it will have to find a way to manufacture runs without its primary catalyst in the lineup. The pressure mounts on the rest of the veterans to step up and fill the leadership and production gap.
There's no time to dwell on this disastrous day, as the Orioles have to wash it off and come back for the series finale tomorrow. How this team responds to the adversity of losing Rutschman and getting embarrassed in the Bronx will tell us a lot about their character. It's a gut-check moment, and Baltimore needs to find an answer, fast.
