The Orioles hopped over the Rays in the standings and came into New York looking to bite at the heels of the AL East-leading Yankees. Only three games ahead, the Yankees were looking push the O's further down in the pack, but Buck Showalter's troops for the third time this season, came into the Yankees' backyard and took two of the three games and narrowed their deficit to a tiny two games.
Licking their wounds from the miserable Blue Jays series, the Yanks were hoping Hiroki Kuroda could get them started in the right direction. For the first inning he did, but in the second frame after a sacrifice fly to Chris Davis, the strikeout-prone Mark Reynolds connected on a 2-run homer to increase the early lead to 3-0 Orioles. Their starter, Miguel Gonzalez, chewed through the exposed and decimated Yankees line-up as if he was Sandy Koufax. He would go seven full innings for the win and only give away four measly hits while striking out 9. Kuroda received no run support for the second straight game, but at least pitched into the 9th inning to give the bullpen a longer break after the off-day Thursday. Derek Lowe came into the 9th and gave up a hit and a homer, as he is looking less-reliable lately, that gave the O's a 6-0 lead. In the bottom of the 9th, Curtis Granderson gave some sign he's alive by popping a solo homer, but that was all for the Yanks as they fell 6-1.
The rookie David Phelps was asked to hold off the surging Orioles for the following game and had perhaps his sloppiest outing since moving back into the starting rotation. Thanks to walks, hits, and even a hit-batsman, Phelps found himself down 2-0 after the 2nd inning and it actually could've been alot worse. Matt Wieters homered to lead off the 4th to make it 3-0 Orioles, and it was looking like another lethargic effort out of the Yankee lineup that has been injured and unable to score in recent weeks. It didn't help either when Curtis Granderson had to exit the game with tightness in his hamstring, but tests came back negative. Robinson Cano finally got something started with an opposite field homer off of lefty starter Wei-Yin Chen that cut the lead to 3-1. Phelps couldn't finish the 5th inning and needed to be lifted after only going 4.2 innings and giving up 3 earned runs with a terrible six walks allowed. Luckily the for the Yankees, the rosters were expanded with September call-ups from the minors and a familiar face, Eduardo Nunez, delivered with a RBI hit in the middle of a 7th inning rally that ended up eventually tying the game on a Jeter walk. The Orioles made their one big mistake of the weekend a batter later when JJ Hardy mishandled Nick Swisher groundball up the middle that let the Yankees seize a gift 4-3 lead. David Robertson looked sharp in a 1-2-3 8th inning, and Rafael Soriano helped push the Yankees AL East lead back to 3 games by closing out the 9th for this 35th save for the 4-3 Yankees win.
With Hiroki Kuroda coming back to Earth a little, it has been Phil Hughes lately (and surprisingly) who has served as the Yankees best starter during the segment of the season. He backed it up by taking a 2-0 Yankees lead into the 5th inning, both runs coming from a Chris Dickerson 2-Run shot earlier on, and gave up to his first run from a Mark Reynolds solo homer. The Yankees would get that run back in the bottom of the 5th, but then that was it as far as Yankee scoring was for the rest of the afternoon. Randy Wolf, picked up by the O's recently from the recycling can, was inserted to start the 4th after Chris Tillman needed to leave the game with shoulder discomfort. The Yankees never got to Wolf, but the Orioles finally got to Hughes. In the top of the 6th, Hughes would get smashed for four runs, including a 3-Run bomb from Reynolds, his fourth homer of the series, and Hughes wasn't able to record one out in the inning. Joba Chamberlain made an appearance in the top of the 7th with two outs and facing Adam Jones. Jones hit what looked to be a sure homerun with a runner on, but Chris Dickerson, playing center for the hamstrung Granderson, leaped up against the wall and caught the ball, saving Joba from giving up a 2-run homer. In the top of the inning the Yankees put two runners on with one out and trailing 5-3, but O's reliever Luis Ayala got Derek Jeter to ground into the inning-ending double play. The Yankee bullpen totally fell apart in the 8th and a mix of Derek Lowe and Boone Logan would help three more Orioles to cross the plate and the game was put away at 8-3 Orioles.
The Yankees lead in the AL East has shriveled down to 2 games and now the Baltimore Orioles have been given a dangerous vote of confidence that they're for real in 2012. Heading out on a long road trip starting in Tampa Bay, the Yankees lost their 20-games over .500 mark at 76-57, but will gain the return of Alex Rodriguez who is sorely needed in the lineup that has struggled to score runs....
Licking their wounds from the miserable Blue Jays series, the Yanks were hoping Hiroki Kuroda could get them started in the right direction. For the first inning he did, but in the second frame after a sacrifice fly to Chris Davis, the strikeout-prone Mark Reynolds connected on a 2-run homer to increase the early lead to 3-0 Orioles. Their starter, Miguel Gonzalez, chewed through the exposed and decimated Yankees line-up as if he was Sandy Koufax. He would go seven full innings for the win and only give away four measly hits while striking out 9. Kuroda received no run support for the second straight game, but at least pitched into the 9th inning to give the bullpen a longer break after the off-day Thursday. Derek Lowe came into the 9th and gave up a hit and a homer, as he is looking less-reliable lately, that gave the O's a 6-0 lead. In the bottom of the 9th, Curtis Granderson gave some sign he's alive by popping a solo homer, but that was all for the Yanks as they fell 6-1.
The rookie David Phelps was asked to hold off the surging Orioles for the following game and had perhaps his sloppiest outing since moving back into the starting rotation. Thanks to walks, hits, and even a hit-batsman, Phelps found himself down 2-0 after the 2nd inning and it actually could've been alot worse. Matt Wieters homered to lead off the 4th to make it 3-0 Orioles, and it was looking like another lethargic effort out of the Yankee lineup that has been injured and unable to score in recent weeks. It didn't help either when Curtis Granderson had to exit the game with tightness in his hamstring, but tests came back negative. Robinson Cano finally got something started with an opposite field homer off of lefty starter Wei-Yin Chen that cut the lead to 3-1. Phelps couldn't finish the 5th inning and needed to be lifted after only going 4.2 innings and giving up 3 earned runs with a terrible six walks allowed. Luckily the for the Yankees, the rosters were expanded with September call-ups from the minors and a familiar face, Eduardo Nunez, delivered with a RBI hit in the middle of a 7th inning rally that ended up eventually tying the game on a Jeter walk. The Orioles made their one big mistake of the weekend a batter later when JJ Hardy mishandled Nick Swisher groundball up the middle that let the Yankees seize a gift 4-3 lead. David Robertson looked sharp in a 1-2-3 8th inning, and Rafael Soriano helped push the Yankees AL East lead back to 3 games by closing out the 9th for this 35th save for the 4-3 Yankees win.
With Hiroki Kuroda coming back to Earth a little, it has been Phil Hughes lately (and surprisingly) who has served as the Yankees best starter during the segment of the season. He backed it up by taking a 2-0 Yankees lead into the 5th inning, both runs coming from a Chris Dickerson 2-Run shot earlier on, and gave up to his first run from a Mark Reynolds solo homer. The Yankees would get that run back in the bottom of the 5th, but then that was it as far as Yankee scoring was for the rest of the afternoon. Randy Wolf, picked up by the O's recently from the recycling can, was inserted to start the 4th after Chris Tillman needed to leave the game with shoulder discomfort. The Yankees never got to Wolf, but the Orioles finally got to Hughes. In the top of the 6th, Hughes would get smashed for four runs, including a 3-Run bomb from Reynolds, his fourth homer of the series, and Hughes wasn't able to record one out in the inning. Joba Chamberlain made an appearance in the top of the 7th with two outs and facing Adam Jones. Jones hit what looked to be a sure homerun with a runner on, but Chris Dickerson, playing center for the hamstrung Granderson, leaped up against the wall and caught the ball, saving Joba from giving up a 2-run homer. In the top of the inning the Yankees put two runners on with one out and trailing 5-3, but O's reliever Luis Ayala got Derek Jeter to ground into the inning-ending double play. The Yankee bullpen totally fell apart in the 8th and a mix of Derek Lowe and Boone Logan would help three more Orioles to cross the plate and the game was put away at 8-3 Orioles.
The Yankees lead in the AL East has shriveled down to 2 games and now the Baltimore Orioles have been given a dangerous vote of confidence that they're for real in 2012. Heading out on a long road trip starting in Tampa Bay, the Yankees lost their 20-games over .500 mark at 76-57, but will gain the return of Alex Rodriguez who is sorely needed in the lineup that has struggled to score runs....
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