NEW YORK — That’s why the Orioles stuck with Cedric Mullins.

The center fielder has spent much of the past two months slumping at the plate — sometimes painfully so — but manager Brandon Hyde repeatedly put his faith in the veteran with the hope he’d snap out of it and return to the game-changer he used to be.

He did just that in extra innings Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium to lead the Orioles to a thrilling 7-6 win over New York in a game that again felt more like October than June.

“That’s a big win,” Hyde said. “I was really happy with how we battled, competed. We gave up the lead and continued to fight offensively, that shows a lot about our club. It was a heck of a win.”

After Craig Kimbrel’s blown save sent the game to extra innings, Mullins blooped a go-ahead RBI single in the 10th off Yankees closer Clay Holmes and then used his speed to make his way around the bases, stealing third and scoring on the errant throw trying to catch him. The two runs generated by Mullins were just enough for Dillon Tate in the bottom half, as the right-hander allowed the automatic runner to score but stranded the potential tying run for his first save since Oct. 2, 2022, also at Yankee Stadium.

“That’s basically what my early work is for, to get back to my game — being able to create chaos,” Mullins said. “Getting hits, being able to hit doubles, the long ball, steal bases, do a little bit of everything. Getting back to that is huge.”

Kimbrel’s blown save wasn’t his typical one, as the veteran closer didn’t walk a batter and often mixed in his knuckle curveball. Instead, Anthony Volpe and Giancarlo Stanton simply got the best of Kimbrel, the latter with a game-tying single, but the 35-year-old closer gave up just the one run to give Mullins the opportunity for his heroics.

“Nice that he only allowed that one run,” Hyde said. “Those things are going to happen.”

Baltimore is 48-25 and 1 1/2 games behind the American League East-leading Yankees (52-25).

Long before the excitement and angst of extra innings, youngster Cade Povich grinded through 4 2/3 innings, allowing only one hit and one run, to give the Orioles’ offense a chance to bounce back from Tuesday’s intense defeat. The rookie southpaw didn’t get the win, but his performance gave the Orioles’ offense time to build a lead — one just big enough for Baltimore’s bullpen to stave off a fierce comeback attempt from the Yankees until it couldn’t.

Ramón Urías’ go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth was sandwiched between two RBI doubles by Ryan O’Hearn in the first and fifth. Ryan Mountcastle’s RBI double to score Gunnar Henderson, who was hit by a pitch in his shoulder to further foment the animosity bubbling underneath this pivotal series, provided a key run in the seventh.

After Orioles pitchers hit two batters Tuesday, the Yankees threw up and in twice to Baltimore batters, including once to Henderson. New York then plunked two Orioles batters Wednesday, but the one of Henderson backfired. The 22-year-old shortstop stole second and scored on Mountcastle’s double to right field to make it 5-1.

Stanton clobbered a 440-foot home run off sinkerballer Yennier Cano in the seventh to bring the Bronx Bombers within one, driving in two runners who reached base off left-hander Cionel Pérez. The slugger was moved up in New York’s batting order with Aaron Judge absent after being hit in the hand by a pitch Tuesday, and Stanton made up for the loss nicely after his 120 mph single off Kimbrel to score Volpe, who led off the frame with a double.

To score the go-ahead run in the 10th, Santander, who opened the inning on second under MLB’s rules for extra innings, read the ball off Mullins’ bat perfectly, and third base coach Tony Mansolino’s aggressive send paid off when Santander beat center fielder Alex Verdugo’s throw. An inning earlier, Santander nearly broke the game open and made Kimbrel’s life easier, but Verdugo robbed the switch-hitter of a bases-clearing hit with an excellent catch on the warning track.

Mullins entered the game batting .188 and has lost his spot as an everyday player, but he proved his skipper right Thursday night for sticking with him through his skid, which he’s started to break out of over the past week.

“That’s what he can do when he gets on base,” Hyde said. “Ced gets a single, a lot of times, it’s a double. Ced gets to second base, he’s got an opportunity to steal third base. … But also the defense that Ced plays in center field. It’s premiere defense, and that’s so important at a premiere position.”

Santander made a web gem of his own in the 10th to help Tate, as did catcher Adley Rutschman. The right fielder made a diving grab to rob rookie Ben Rice of a hit, resulting instead in a sacrifice fly to cut the Orioles’ lead in half. Rutschman then nabbed Oswaldo Cabrera trying to steal second for the inning’s second out. Tate struck out former Oriole Jahmai Jones to send the announced crowd of 47,155 to the subway unhappy.

“Incredible,” Tate said of his defense. “It’s always a team effort every night, but having guys like that definitely makes it a lot easier out there.”