Baltimore Orioles fend off Yankees to win 10-6

BALTIMORE - Reuters

Baltimore Orioles’ Adam Jones reacts after he got pied. AP Photo

The Baltimore Orioles survived a furious five-run fightback by the New York Yankees in the eighth inning on Sept. 5 to win 10-6 and draw level with their division rivals at the top of the American League East.

Matt Wieters hit a three-run homer to cap a four-run first inning for the Orioles, who padded that lead to 6-1 by the end of the sixth in front of a sellout crowd at Camden Yards.

The visiting Yankees pulled level with five runs in the top of the eighth, Ichiro Suzuki delivering the game-tying single, but Baltimore hit back immediately with homers from Adam Jones, Mark Reynolds and Chris Davis in the bottom of the inning.

“That’s the biggest hit I’ve ever had in my life,” Jones told reporters about his 28th homer of the season. “Everything else up to this point has been leading up to this.”

Relief pitcher Jim Johnson shut out the Yankees in the ninth to seal Baltimore’s eighth win over New York in their last 11 meetings and improve their overall record this season to 77-60.

The Orioles recorded a season-high six homers in the game, their highest total in a single game since Aug. 28, 2007 against Tampa Bay.

Playing with confidence

“They’re playing with a lot of confidence,” said Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez. “That was pretty impressive there in the eighth.”

Jason Hammel, making his first start for the Orioles in almost two months after having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, allowed just one run on six hits and a pair of walks, while notching six strikeouts.

He pitched five-plus innings, despite being hit in the right elbow by a sharp liner from Robinson Cano to start the fourth.

“I almost expected that,” Hammel smiled. “It’s been a month-and-a-half, and you get a heat-seeker right back at you, of course.”