Yankees Use 3-Run 11th To Beat Orioles 6-3
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Russell Martin singled home the tiebreaking run in the 11th inning after Mariano Rivera gave up the lead in the ninth, and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 Sunday for a two-game sweep.
The thriller of a game had a bit of everything, including a 40-minute rain delay in the 11th inning. Baltimore rallied from a three-run deficit against Joba Chamberlain and Rivera; both teams had the go-ahead run thrown at the plate in the late innings; and the Yankees ultimately won on the strength of three infield hits and a couple of Baltimore errors in a wild 11th.
Robinson Cano led off the inning with a double off Jason Berken (0-1). After Nick Swisher failed on a bunt attempt, Cano was caught between the bases. Catcher Matt Wieters threw to second, and Cano scampered safely to third.
Swisher struck out, and after an intentional walk to Eric Chavez, Martin hit a grounder deep in the hole to shortstop Robert Andino, who threw wildly to second in a desperate attempt to start a double play.
One out later, Derek Jeter hit a slow roller to third, and Mark Reynolds' throw went awry on what was ruled an infield hit. Curtis Granderson followed with an RBI single off the glove of second baseman Brian Roberts.
Boone Logan (1-1) got four outs, and Buddy Carlyle retired the final two batters.
Jeter had four hits for Yankees, who earned their sixth straight series win at Camden Yards. New York is 41-17 against Baltimore since the start of the 2008 season.
After Mark Reynolds hit a two-run homer off Chamberlain to make it 3-2 in the seventh, the Orioles drew even in the ninth against Rivera. With runners on first and second and two outs, Roberts bounced a double into the right-field corner. One run scored, but Andino was thrown out at the plate by Cano, who took the relay from Swisher.
In the top of the 10th, New York had runners at the corners with one out when Alex Rodriguez lifted a fly ball to medium center. Jeter tagged up at third and Adam Jones uncorked a dart that reached Wieters in the air.
Wieters had the plate blocked, and he tagged Jeter for the final out.
Yankees starter Freddy Garcia pitched six innings of two-hit ball and left with a 3-0 lead, but he was betrayed by the New York bullpen.
Garcia struck out seven and walked two in his second start with the Yankees. The right-hander permitted one runner past second base and retired 13 of the last 14 batters he faced.
With the score 3-2 in the eighth, the Orioles got runners on the corners with two outs in the eighth against David Robertson.
Rivera came in to face Luke Scott, who hit an opposite-field liner to left that the speedy Brett Gardner snagged just short of the warning track. In a rare outburst of emotion, a grinning Rivera thrust his right arm upward before walking off the mound.
But Rivera would give away the lead in the ninth, his second blown save in nine opportunities.
Orioles starter Jake Arrieta gave up three runs, five hits and three walks in six innings. The right-hander had a career-high nine strikeouts.
New York needed only four pitches to take a 2-0 lead. After Jeter singled on Arrieta's first offering, Granderson hit a 1-1 pitch into the right-field seats, his team-high seventh homer of the season.
Arrieta rebounded from his poor start to keep the Yankees in check until the fifth. Granderson doubled with one out, took third on a single by Mark Teixeira and scored when Rodriguez beat the relay on a potential double-play ball that resulted only in an out at second base.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
