BALTIMORE (AP) — Trent Grisham hit his 17th home run in the third inning and had a two-run single in the seventh to propel the New York Yankees to a 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.
Yerry De los Santos (1-0) pitched two innings of scoreless relief for the Yankees (70-55), who began the series opener in possession of the top AL wild-card place and six games behind Tampa Bay for the AL East lead.
Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón allowed Coby Mayo’s 17th homer during four innings in his first start after nearly two months on the injured list with inflammation in his throwing elbow.
Brent Headrick and Fernando Cruz got through the seventh, Paul Blackburn completed the eighth and David Bednar worked a perfect ninth for his 28th save in New York's second straight win.
Orioles right-hander Shane Baz (4-13) struck out a season-high 10 in 6 1/3 innings but was charged with all three New York runs after he departed with two men on.
Josh Walker came on and faced back-to-back pinch hitters, walking Paul Goldschmidt to load the bases and striking out Amed Rosario. Grisham followed, lined Walker's 2-2 offering into center field to give him his second multi-RBI game in seven days.
Baltimore (61-65) lost its second straight after beginning the night in a three-way tie with Detroit and Texas for the final AL wild-card spot.
Yankees right-hander Will Warren (8-6, 4.42 ERA) looks to rebound after allowing three homers, four walks and five runs in a four-inning outing last Wednesday. The Orioles answer with righty Chris Bassitt (4-4, 5.11) in his second start since undergoing minor back surgery in late June.
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Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Shane Baz (34) delivers during the third inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
New York Yankees' Trent Grisham rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
New York Yankees' Trent Grisham rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean and U.S. militaries have agreed to shorten their drills at the U.S.'s request, South Korean officials said Wednesday, days after President Donald Trump ordered cuts to the exercises.
The allies’ summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises began Monday morning for an 11-day run, just after Trump ordered his Pentagon chief to “substantially reduce” them. Trump cited what he said was a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea’s refusal to join the U.S. war against Iran.
South Korea’s military said in a statement the ongoing drills with the U.S. would end Friday, not Aug. 27 as initially planned. It said the allies also agreed to downsize some joint field training exercises.
Many experts say Trump’s move threatens to hurt combined U.S.-South Korean readiness and eventually weaken their decades-long alliance.
Ulchi Freedom Shield is largely a computer-simulated command post exercise meant to hone the allies’ ability to deal with potential regional security threats like North Korean aggression. The two countries usually hold field training exercises during the command post exercise period.
The drills and a similar springtime exercise are a central pillar of the U.S. -South Korea alliance, which dates to the 1950-53 Korean War. But it’s also a long-running source of tensions with North Korea, which has denounced the exercises as a rehearsal for war and responded with provocative missile tests.
North Korea hasn't responded to Trump's overture. But earlier Wednesday, its state news agency, KCNA, published commentary slamming the U.S.-South Korean military drills as “frantic” and “extremely dangerous” and vowing to completely frustrate its rivals’ hostilities.
Experts said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, now emboldened by his advancing nuclear program and expanding military cooperation, won't likely embrace Trump's overture anytime soon unless he's promised bigger concessions. In response to Trump's previous outreach, Kim suggested last year that he can return to talks only after the U.S. drops its demand of a North Korean denuclearization as a precondition for diplomacy.
Trump and Kim met three times from 2018-2019 but their high-stakes diplomacy eventually fell apart over wrangling over a North Korean demand for extensive sanctions relief in return for limited denuclearization steps.
FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump, right, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sentosa Island in Singapore, on June 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
The U.S. Army's soldiers conduct a training exercise on a river in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
U.S. Army's soldiers conduct a training exercise on a river in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
