Listless And Tired Yankees Fall To Orioles In 10
BALTIMORE (AP) -- The New York Yankees would have preferred doing just about anything on their day off rather than playing a makeup game at Camden Yards.
And that was before they lost to the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 in 10 innings on Thursday.
Robert Andino singled home the winning run after tying it in the eighth, giving the Orioles their second straight extra-inning win over New York.
It was the fourth game in four days between the division foes. The first three were held at Yankee Stadium before both teams headed south for a makeup of an Aug. 27 contest postponed by Hurricane Irene.
"It's not ideal, but the Orioles had to do it, too," New York left fielder Brett Gardner said. "It's part of the game. A lot of rain, seems like the whole season."
Although rain was in the forecast, the game started on time and was played without interruption. Afterward, the Yankees headed to Los Angeles and the Orioles took off for Toronto.
"Definitely, it's a lot of baseball in a short period of time," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said before the game. "It's one thing in April when guys are so fresh. It's another thing when it's so late."
After building a 4-1 lead, New York didn't get a hit or place a runner in scoring position after the fourth inning.
"It's surprising we didn't and that's probably the difference in the game," Girardi said. "We lost because we didn't score any more runs."
Vladimir Guerrero homered, doubled twice and scored two runs for the Orioles, who celebrated the victory by mobbing Andino at second base.
In the 10th, Nolan Reimold got an infield hit off Scott Proctor (0-1) with one out and advanced on a walk. Andino then hit a grounder inside third base that got Reimold home without a throw.
"We can't walk people in that situation," Proctor said. "It's a good at bat (by Andino). He battled some pitches but again, you just have to execute."
Clay Rapada (1-0) retired the only batter he faced in the 10th.
The last-place Orioles have nothing to play for except to avoid 100 losses, but they gave the Yankees fits over the last two days.
"It shows a lot of heart. It shows a lot of character," Rapada said. "We're men just like they are. We want to compete and win. That's what it comes down to."
New York starter Ivan Nova allowed three runs in 5 1-3 innings. The right-hander was poised to tie a Yankees single-season rookie record with his 12th straight victory (over 13 starts) before Baltimore pulled even in the eighth. Although that mark is still possible, Nova's run of eight consecutive winning starts ended.
Down 4-3, the Orioles missed a chance to tie it in the seventh when Nick Markakis was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first on a one-out double by Guerrero.
In the eighth, Mark Reynolds was cut down attempting to score on a single by Chris Davis, who took second on the play. Andino followed with an RBI single.
Derek Jeter and Eric Chavez each had two RBIs for the Yankees, whose lead in the AL East shrunk to two games, pending Boston's game at Toronto on Thursday night.
"You try to win every one from here on out and put some space between us and the team behind us," Proctor said.
Baltimore starter Alfredo Simon allowed four runs, six hits and a career-high six walks in four innings. Only 43 of his 88 pitches were strikes.
New York went up 3-0 in the second with an uprising fueled by three walks. Chavez drove in a run with an infield hit before Jeter delivered a two-run, two-out single.
Guerrero hit his 11th homer leading off the bottom half, only the fourth home run allowed by Nova in his last nine starts.
Mark Teixeira led off the third with a single, Simon walked Nick Swisher with two outs and Chavez followed with an RBI single to make it 4-1.
The Orioles got a run in the fourth when Guerrero doubled and scored on a groundout by Reynolds.
A one-out double by Nolan Reimold chased Nova in the sixth, and Boone Logan promptly gave up an RBI double to Davis.
NOTES: The Yankees will play a day-night doubleheader against Tampa Bay on Sept. 21 in New York to make up an Aug. 14 rainout, the team announced Thursday. ... Bartolo Colon (8-9) will start Friday for New York in the opener of a three-game series against the Angels, who are pressing Texas for the lead in the AL West. ... Jeremy Guthrie (6-17) will take the mound for Baltimore in Toronto on Friday, and Rick VandenHurk makes his first start of the season Saturday. ... Attendance was announced at 33,841, but that was the number of tickets sold. There were around that many empty seats in a stadium that holds 45,438.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
