Michael Pineda Electrifies With Strikeout Clinic In Bronx
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Manny Machado slammed his pink bat — twice — and threw his helmet. Adam Jones look to the sky and shook his head. Ryan Flaherty just placed his bat and helmet right on home plate as if to say, "I give up." All were sickened by their inability to figure out Michael Pineda.
Bud Norris? Well, he was just sick.
The Baltimore Orioles set a club record, striking out 16 times against Pineda in a 6-2 loss to the New York Yankees on Sunday.
"They were perfect pitches," Yankees catcher Brian McCann said. "It's not fun facing it."
Throwing nice and easy with pink sleeves peeking out from under his pinstriped jersey on Mother's Day, Pineda (5-0) overpowered an Orioles team that went bust in its week in the Big Apple. Baltimore lost three of four in the Bronx after being swept in two games by the Mets in Queens.
The 16 strikeouts were the most by the Orioles against one pitcher in a nine-inning game, according to STATS. Baltimore struck out 18 times overall, a club record for a nine-inning game.
"His stuff today was electric," McCann said. "Almost every time he takes the ball, it is."
J.J. Hardy, who homered, was the only Baltimore player who did not fan against Pineda.
"It's really tough to pick up his delivery. When guys like that are on, it's really tough on hitters," Hardy said. "Very deceptive."
Norris (1-4) was sent back to the hotel during Saturday's game because he was not feeling well, and Buck Showalter said he managed his bullpen knowing he might need a spot starter Sunday. But Norris came to work ready to play.
"I saw the doctor yesterday because I had the chills, hot and cold. He told me that it would probably develop into a stomach virus today and that I could fight through it," Norris said. "I tried. I wanted to go five innings but it just didn't work out that way."
He gritted out three scoreless innings, needing 58 pitches, before the heat and some fundamental mistakes by the outfield ended his day in the fourth.
Beltran tied it at 1 on a full-count pitch for his first homer in his 100th at-bat this season.
With runners on first and second Didi Gregorius singled to right field. Delmon Young, who robbed Alex Rodriguez of a homer Thursday, threw to third instead of hitting the cutoff man on the grass near first base. Chase Headley easily scored after being held up by Yankees third base coach Joe Espada. Then left fielder Alejandro De Aza made his first move in on Jacoby Ellsbury's liner, and the ball sailed over his head for a double and a 4-1 lead.
Pineda fanned six in a row, a string that started with De Aza to end the fourth and was halted by Young's two-out double in the sixth. Pineda gave up six hits and did not walk a batter. His previous career high for Ks was 10, done twice.
"In the first inning I threw my first slider, I knew everything was working perfect," Pineda said.
The Orioles' No. 7-9 batters went 0 for 9 with eight strikeouts against Pineda.
Pineda struck out Flaherty with his career-high 111th pitch on a sun-splashed afternoon, and calmly walked off the field to a thunderous ovation.
"That's as good as we've seen," manager Joe Girardi said. "God, he was really good."
Pineda matched David Cone and David Wells for the second-most strikeouts in a game by a Yankees pitcher. Ron Guidry had 18 in 1978.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Orioles: RHP Kevin Gausman (shoulder) is responding well to treatment. He will see team orthopedist Dr. Michael Jacobs on Monday and has an MRI scheduled for Tuesday. ... Matt Wieters (Tommy John surgery) is scheduled to catch nine innings Thursday and Saturday. After the game, he was transferred to the 60-day DL when the Orioles claimed minor league RHP Jorge Rondon off waivers from the Colorado Rockies and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk.
Yankees: RHP Masahiro Tanaka (wrist tendinitis and forearm strain) was going to throw off flat ground, pushing the distance to 90 and 120 feet.
UP NEXT
Orioles: Host Toronto on Monday night in their return to Baltimore. It will be the first time they've played in Baltimore since April 29, when they held a game without fans at Camden Yards because of civil unrest in the city after the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. "I think everybody's anxiously looking forward to getting back and getting on the field and getting back to the city, without a doubt for the right reasons," Showalter said. The Orioles had a series against the Rays relocated to Tampa Bay following the game with no crowd.
Yankees: Begin a nine-day road trip in Tampa Bay. LHP CC Sabathia (0-5) is 4-8 in 18 starts at Tropicana Field, his most losses at a visiting ballpark.
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