Rafaela tallies two hits in loss to Yankees

The Rockies should have had an inning-ending double play on Cowser’s grounder to second in the seventh, but Connor Norby did an underhand flip from a mile away and Cowser, thanks to an overturned call, ended up beating out the relay, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Cowser, though, still had more in store. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Jake McCarthy crushed a ball to center, only for Cowser to make an outstanding jumping catch while crashing into the wall, denying what would have been a two-run walkoff homer and giving the Orioles a 2-1 victory. It brought the Orioles, now 69-69, to .500 for the first time since they were 15-15 on Apr. 30.

Povich did solid work in limiting the Rockies to one double and four singles in his 87-pitch outing. The Orioles aren’t committed to sticking with a six-man rotation, so Povich might return to Triple-A after this. He’ll still likely play some sort of role in September, though.

This ought to have been a blown save and a loss for Kittredge, but Colton Cowser saved him by robbing a two-run homer to end the game. It’s Kittredge’s fifth save of August, but he still might find himself taking a back seat in September with Félix Bautista and maybe Ryan Helsley due back.

Gordon’s reward for being the Rockies’ second least bad starting pitcher last year was a mid-March demotion to Triple-A this spring. He’s mostly been not totally awful again since getting his first start on May 25 last year, and it finally earned him first win last week against the Nationals. There’s no real upside here, but his 5.18 ERA is the best of any Rockies pitcher to start more than a few games this year. He’ll likely face the Cardinals on Sunday.

The scoring was finished in the third inning in this one, allowing Nola to get the victory in a game in which he recorded just 15 outs, He’s yielded exactly one run in four of his last seven starts and a total of 11 runs during the span, which has lowered his ERA from 5.82 to 4.93. He’s a pretty reasonable mixed-league option right now, though a matchup against the Braves on Sunday isn’t quite ideal.

Duran allowed a couple of soft singles, but he then got Gabriel Moreno to ground out to end the 2-1 game. It’s his 29th save. He’s thrown 32 pitches in the three days since he missed Saturday’s game with a stomach issue, so it’s possible he’ll be down Tuesday.

Pfaadt, who struck out just one, allowed two runs or fewer for the 10th time in 12 starts since rejoining Arizona’s rotation, but since there was little run support to be had tonight, he took his first loss since way back on Apr. 11. He definitely hasn’t been as impressive recently as he was in his first six weeks back in the majors, so those in daily leagues might have better options than to start him in Houston on Sunday.

Since taking part in his first All-Star Game, Marsh has hit .195/.265/.263 in 40 games, dropping his OPS from .829 to .744. He’s still a solid enough player who will probably rebound to post decent numbers in September, but for those who thought he took step forward at age 28... nope.

Grissom’s last hit was a 391-foot double to left that would have been a homer in 26 ballparks. In Angel Stadium, it really ought to have been caught, but Cody Bellinger just didn’t get a good jump on it. Grissom’s .249/.311/.389 line isn’t especially impressive, and his future as a long-term regular is far from secure. Still, his approach is pretty good, and at age 25, he could get a little stronger. He should be close to clinching a spot on the 2027 Angels, even if he might not deserve to be penciled into the starting lineup.

Ureña’s command still comes and goes, but it wasn’t an issue tonight. He walked none and allowed just one extra-base hit — a Spencer Jones homer — to the 25 Yankees he faced tonight. The victory evened his record at 9-9 to go along with a 2.85 ERA. He’d be a Rookie of the Year candidate in many seasons, but he’s behind Parker Messick and a couple of bats in this year’s AL class. He’ll likely face the Pirates on Sunday.