Orioles hold off Yankees; pull even in AL East
Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - J.J. Hardy, Mark Reynolds and Lew Ford hit solo homers to help the Baltimore Orioles hold off the New York Yankees, 5-4, in the third test of a key four-game series at Camden Yards.
Hardy and Ford ended with two RBI apiece for the Orioles, who moved back into a tie with the Yankees for first place in the AL East.
Baltimore starter Joe Saunders (2-1) allowed two runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings to pick up the win.
Alex Rodriguez hit a solo homer and knocked in two runs for the Yankees, who have lost seven of their last 10 games. Nick Swisher and Ichiro Suzuki had an RBI apiece.
CC Sabathia (13-5) gave up five runs on eight hits while striking out five over 6 1/3 innings. He fell to 16-4 lifetime against the O's.
Holding a 5-3 lead, the Orioles sent Jim Johnson to the mound in the ninth. Suzuki and Eric Chavez singled to left before Derek Jeter's bunt single loaded the bases with no outs. Swisher plated a run when he grounded into a fielder's choice. Mark Teixeira, who returned to the lineup after missing 10 games with a strained left calf, grounded into a double play to end the game.
The Yankees got on the board in the first inning after Jeter singled, moved to third on Teixeira's double and scored on Rodriguez's sacrifice fly.
New York tacked on another run in the second to make it a 2-0 game. Russell Martin walked and raced home on Suzuki's one-out double to center.
Reynolds and Ford responded with back-to-back solo homers in the bottom half to tie the game.
Baltimore never looked back after taking the lead in the third. Nick Markakis singled, advanced to second on Robert Andino's groundout and scored on Hardy's double to right.
The Orioles tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Hardy led off with a homer to left. Adam Jones followed with a double and crossed the plate on Ford's single to right.
Rodriguez homered off Pedro Strop in the eighth to make it a 5-3 contest. The Yankees left runners on the corners later in the inning.
Game Notes
The Orioles lead the season series by a 9-8 margin ... Saunders has faced the Yankees six times and is 3-1 ... Reynolds has seven home runs against the Yankees this year ... New York activated pitcher Ivan Nova from the 15-day disabled list on Saturday ... Markakis left the game in the fifth inning after taking a pitch off his left hand ... Johnson picked up his 42nd save of the season.
