Orioles Look To Get Back On Track Offensively
(AP) -- The Baltimore Orioles aren't scoring enough this week in New York, and certainly not when they fail to hit homers.
Many of them have gotten untracked in the past when facing Adam Warren, who has never started against Baltimore.
The New York Yankees starter has been stingy in two home outings as he tries to hand the Orioles a fourth straight loss Friday night.
Baltimore (12-14) is spending the week in the Big Apple, losing twice to the Mets before beginning this four-game series with Thursday's 4-3 defeat. The Orioles have totaled six runs in the slide, with four solo homers.
Adam Jones is 1 for 11 in the three games while Baltimore is 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position.
"We're just not clicking where we need to be offensively yet," manager Buck Showalter said.
Chris Davis struck out all four times Thursday and is 2 for 16 with 13 strikeouts in the season series. He leads baseball with 44.
The Orioles may get well against the unheralded Warren (2-1, 4.78 ERA), who has an 8.18 ERA in 10 appearances versus them for his worst mark against any team he has faced at least five times.
Manny Machado is 3 for 4 against him, J.J. Hardy is 3 for 5, Davis is 2 for 4 and Jones is 3 for 6, though the Orioles have not homered versus the right-hander.
Warren has yet to pitch through the sixth inning, allowing four runs over 5 2-3 in Sunday's 8-5 win at Boston. He has a 1.64 home ERA compared to 7.04 on the road.
He'll hope to get support from Alex Rodriguez, who hit his 661st homer Thursday to pass Willie Mays for sole possession of fourth place on the all-time list. Rodriguez also singled and is 38 hits shy of 3,000.
"All of this is pretty crazy," Rodriguez said. "A year ago today I never thought I would ever get a curtain call or be hitting in the middle of the lineup for the Yankees, helping our team win."
His effort in the No. 3 spot in the lineup came on a night when the top four hitters went 8 for 13 with all four RBIs and runs scored.
"The top guys, the four guys at the top had an awesome night," manager Joe Girardi said.
New York (18-11) will now try to fare better against Miguel Gonzalez (3-1, 2.59) than it did April 14 when he allowed one run over seven innings with a career-high 10 strikeouts in a 4-3 home victory. Gonzalez went 0-3 with a 4.22 ERA in his previous eight starts against the Yankees.
Rodriguez has a double in five at-bats against the right-hander and Mark Teixeira (1 for 12) and Brian McCann (2 for 11) have also fared poorly. Carlos Beltran, whose .227 on-base percentage is one of baseball's worst marks, is 4 for 6 with a homer and two doubles versus Gonzalez.
Gonzalez won his third straight decision Saturday with 7 2-3 innings in a 4-0 victory at Tampa Bay.
Orioles second baseman Ryan Flaherty is eligible to return from the disabled list after being out with a right groin strain. He was hitting .300 with two home runs in nine games before the injury.
