BALTIMORE — After getting shut out on Monday night, the Yankees lamented putting balls in play and not seeing them fall.
Then they turned around on Tuesday and watched the Orioles thrive on just that.
The Orioles mostly sprayed the ball around to where the Yankees were not while keeping them in check for a second straight night, handing Aaron Boone’s club a 4-2 loss at Camden Yards.
It was a second straight quiet night for the Yankees’ offense.
They avoided a shutout this time, but Orioles right-hander Dean Kremeer limited them to just a pair of solo home runs by Austin Wells and Juan Soto across seven innings.
A night after going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and leaving 10 men on base, the Yankees (19-12) went 0-for-1 with runners in scoring position and stranded four.
They grounded into three double plays — extending their league-lead to 36 on the season — that squashed potential rallies.
The Orioles (19-10), meanwhile, took advantage of a three-run fourth inning against Nestor Cortes. Jorge Mateo and James McCann both doubled to break a 1-1 tie before Colton Cowser and Gunnar Henderson hit back-to-back infield singles to make it 3-1.
Anthony Volpe and Gleyber Torres both made diving stops in the shallow outfield on the ground balls by Cowser and Henderson, but both hitters used their speed to reach safely.
Adley Rutschmann then poked a flare to right field that fell in to make it 4-1.
The Orioles’ first run of the night came with a hand from the Yankees. Anthony Santander led off the second inning with a high pop-up down the right-field line.
First baseman Anthony Rizzo ran a long way to track it down but it deflected off his glove for a double.
Jordan Westburg followed with a ground ball up the middle fielded by Torres, who threw to third base in an attempt to nab Santander.
But his throw hit off Santander’s back and trickled away, allowing him to score for the 1-0 lead.
Wells tied the game in the third inning with his first home run of the season.
Soto later trimmed the deficit to 4-2 in the sixth when he clobbered a 447-foot home run to Eutaw Street
The problem for the Yankees was that they did not have a runner on base for either of the home runs.
The Orioles, who went 7-6 against the Yankees last season, have taken the first two games of this four-game set.