The loss, which prevents the Orioles from having a winning record on this 10-game homestand, was their second straight and drops Baltimore into a tie with Tampa Bay for first place in the division.

Severna Park native Mark Teixeira blasted a two-run homer onto the flag court in right field off Luis Ayala in the seventh inning that proved to be the difference.

But it’s Baltimore’s starting pitching — one of the club’s biggest strengths during its early-season surge — that has suddenly struggled on this homestand. In the eight home games, the starters are 2-4 with a 6.95 earned run average and have allowed 59 hits and issued 17 walks in 45¹/
₃ innings. It was the third straight game in which the Orioles haven’t gotten at least six innings from their starting pitcher.

Going into the homestand, Baltimore’s overall ERA was 2.78, best in the league, but it has ballooned to 3.55.

Orioles right-hander Jason Hammel, making his first start since he missed Thursday’s start with right-knee soreness, had his rockiest outing of the season, allowing five runs — four earned — on seven hits, all season highs.  Hammel, who came into the game attempting to be the first Baltimore pitcher to allow two or fewer runs in his first seven starts, left in the top of the sixth up 5-3 with the bases loaded and no outs.

But the Yankees immediately plated two runs on first baseman Chris Davis’s fielding error off the bat of Raul Ibanez, a grounder that caromed off of Davis’s glove and into right field to tie the score at 5.

The Davis error was costly — had he come up with the ball, he had the chance to turn a double play, and it appeared like Davis was trying to turn two just before he had the ball in his glove. It was the Orioles’ 35th error of the year, most in the league.

Eighteen of the errors have come from five players at the corner infield positions. Baltimore has made at least one error in 21 games this season — 10 AL teams haven’t made 21 errors overall.

Ayala, who relieved Hammel, prevented further damage by stranding the bases loaded with one out by striking out leadoff hitter Derek Jeter and inducing a fly to right from Curtis Granderson.

Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth, rookie Xavier Avery drove in his first career run with a triple into the right-field corner off New York starter Ivan Nova, scoring Robert Andino from first and tying the game.

In the next Orioles at bat, J.J. Hardy hit an 87-mph slider from Nova into the left-field stands for his ninth homer of the season, a two-run blast that tied it at 5.

Nova, who was hit on the right ankle by a Nick Markakis comebacker in the first, limped off the field with a contusion and sprain to his right ankle and foot with one out in the sixth. Baltimore has battered Nova for 10 runs in two starts over 11¹/
₃ innings this season.

The Orioles went up 2-0 in the first, fueled by Avery’s leadoff double — his first major league hit — to right field. Avery scored on a single by Hardy and Adam Jones’s rocket line-drive double to left-center plated Hardy.

Orioles killer Nick Swisher, who has 72 RBI in 85 games against Baltimore, tied the game in the fourth on a one-out, two-run double off Hammel. The Yankees then took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth on Granderson’s solo homer.

— Baltimore Sun

BALTIMORE—Mark Teixeira has tried just about everything to get rid of a nagging cough that has bothered him for the past month.

The timely home run he hit Monday night did nothing to change his health, but it just might turn out to be the cure for his season-long slump.

Teixeira hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh inning, Curtis Granderson also connected, and the New York Yankees got three hits from Alex Rodriguez in an 8-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Teixeira had five hits in his previous 33 at-bats and was hitting .220 when he drove a 1-2 pitch from former Yankee Luis Ayala (1-1) into the right-field seats. He also doubled in the ninth and scored on a fly ball by Eric Chavez.

“I hope that helps put me on a roll,” he said.

Asked if his two-hit, two-RBI performance made him feel any better, Teixiera replied, “I’d like to say yes. I want to be positive, but the truth is … not really. I’m just trying to grind through it. In this game, you’re always playing through something.”

It was the fourth win in five games for the Yankees, who improved to 4-0 at Camden Yards this season.

New York shortstop Derek Jeter got his 3,143rd hit, a single up the middle in the third inning, to move out of a tie with Robin Yount into sole possession of 16th place on the career hit list.

J.J. Hardy homered and had three RBIs for the Orioles, who dropped into a tie with Tampa Bay atop the AL East. After going hitless in his first big league game Sunday, Orioles leadoff hitter Xavier Avery doubled, tripled, scored twice and drove in a run.

“X had a good night,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. “I was real proud of him.”

Yankees starter Ivan Nova allowed five runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. He left in the sixth with a bruised and sprained right foot after chasing down a grounder toward the first-base side. The right-hander took a line drive off the top of the same foot in the third inning, courtesy of Nick Markakis, but shook it off.

“On that last play I twisted it,” Nova said. “I don’t want to miss any starts. Hopefully, it will feel better. It is a little (swollen) right now.”

David Phelps (1-1) entered in the sixth and got three outs for his first major league win. Rafael Soriano, the sixth New York pitcher, worked the ninth for his second save.

The Yankees are operating without injured closer Mariano Rivera, and manager Joe Girardi revealed that late-inning specialist David Robertson has soreness in his left side and could undergo an examination Tuesday.

“I was hoping it was one of those things that would go away,” Robertson said, “but it keeps hanging around. Honestly, I don’t think it’s too bad.”

Orioles starter Jason Hammel gave up five runs, four earned, in five-plus innings. He was seeking to become the first pitcher in Orioles history to begin a season with seven straight starts of allowing two or fewer runs.

After a 14-minute rain delay, Baltimore jumped to a 2-0 first-inning lead. Avery led off with a double and received hearty congratulations from Jeter at second base after his first major league hit. Hardy followed with an RBI single and Adam Jones doubled in a run.

The Yankees pulled even in the fourth when Nick Swisher hit a two-run double following singles by Rodriguez and Robinson Cano.

In the fifth, Granderson launched a 2-1 pitch over the right-field scoreboard, the 61st homer in the 21-year history of Camden Yards to land on Eutaw Street.

Baltimore went up 5-3 in the bottom half. Avery tripled in a run and Hardy followed with a drive into the left-field seats.

New York tied it in the sixth. A leadoff double by Cano and two walks loaded the bases with no outs, ending Hammel’s night. Ayala got Chavez to hit a bouncer to first, but the ball went under Chris Davis’ glove and rolled into right field as two runs scored.

“I tried to make throw before I caught it,” Davis said. “It was hit hard, but it’s still a play that’s got to be made.”

After a one-out walk loaded the bases, Ayala struck out Jeter and retired Granderson on a fly to right.

By
Erik Matuszewski
-

Tue May 15 04:45:37 GMT 2012

The New York Yankees beat the
Baltimore Orioles 8-5 for their fourth win in five games as Mark Teixeira’s seventh-inning home run snapped a 5-5 tie.

Curtis Granderson added a solo homer and Nick Swisher had a
two-run double last night as the Yankees improved to 4-0 this
Major League Baseball season at Baltimore’s Camden Yards.

David Phelps got the win in relief of Yankees starting
pitcher Ivan Nova, who left the game after 5 1/3 innings with a
right foot injury. New York’s Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth
inning for his second save. Reliever David Robertson was
unavailable because of rib cage soreness and may undergo
precautionary tests later today, manager Joe Girardi said.

Reliever Frank Francisco, who allowed five earned runs in
his previous two appearances, rebounded to notch his ninth save
last night as the New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1.
Francisco closed out the win for Mets 41-year-old starting
pitcher Miguel Batista, who allowed four hits in seven scoreless
innings.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Erik Matuszewski in New York at
matuszewski@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.

The wacky game between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles on May 6, in which position players Chris Davis and Darnell McDonald had to pitch due to a lack of arms left in the bullpen, got me thinking.

What New York Yankee position players came into games that were well out of hand to pitch in order to save the bullpen further toil? My research revealed that some modern players headed to the mound and gave it a try, as well as one very accomplished former pitcher who had become a much more potent threat as a regular in the batting order.

1. Nick Swisher

Outfielder/first baseman Swisher came into a 2008 blowout and gave the Yankees an inning, pitching to five batters and getting three of them out. He permitted one base hit, issued a walk and recorded a strikeout. Swisher was credited with a game finished and now sports an earned run average of 0.00 for his hurling career.

2. Wade Boggs

In a 1997 contest, third baseman Boggs came in and had luck similar to Swisher’s, facing four batters, walking one, striking one out and even getting a double play. He allowed no runs in this outing, but things went south when Boggs did, as a stint on the hill with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays was not as fruitful. In 1999, Boggs toed the rubber and faced seven hitters. He got four outs, but yielded a hit and a run, causing his career earned run average to balloon to 3.86.

3. Babe Ruth

Ruth was a premiere pitcher with the Red Sox, and he had a perfect record in New York after converting to a full-time outfielder. The Babe picked up three wins between the 1920 and 1922 seasons in his only three appearances in pinstripes, which was understandable since he had as many as 15 starts as recently as 1919 in Beantown. But he was able to throw a complete game in 1930, winning despite allowing 11 base hits. Ruth duplicated this feat three seasons later, going the distance once again and winning, bringing his Yankee standard to 5-0. In the 1933 tilt, Ruth gave up 12 hits and five runs, but was the winner, although failing to fan a single batter.

4. Rocky Colavito

The great Cleveland and Detroit slugger was playing out the string in 1968 with New York when he threw 2.2 innings of shut-out ball. This was not the first time the outfielder had taken the ball, as he pitched three shutout frames in 1958 with the Indians. Known for a strong throwing arm from the outfield, Rocky’s earned run average of 0.00 for his two times on the mound cannot be topped.

5. Johnny Lindell

Lindell is the odd case of a pitcher who became a hitter and then reverted back to pitching, but I thought it was appropriate to include him here. Lindell threw 52 innings for New York in 1942, then became an outfielder who managed to knock in over 100 runs in 1944 and lead the American League in triples twice. Johnny turned to hurling the sphere full-time after he and the Yanks parted ways. His time as a starter with the Pittsburgh Pirates was rough, as he posted a 5-17 record in one-plus seasons.

I have been a fan of the New York Yankees sine the middle of the 1960s.

Sources:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/swishni01.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/boggswa01.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/colavro01.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lindejo01.shtml

The Toronto Blue Jays will have a 2012 MLB schedule that features 72 regular-season games against AL East teams. Those teams include the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Blue Jays will host their first divisional series against the Red Sox from April 9 through April 11. Their last divisional series will occur against the Yankees from September 27 through September 30. They’ll host 19 of their first 25 divisional games in Toronto.

Here is a brief rundown of the Blue Jays’ schedule against divisional opponents for the 2012 MLB season.

Complete MLB schedule can be found HERE.

April 2012 (9 Home, 3 Road)

April 9-11: Boston Red Sox

April 13-15: Baltimore Orioles

April 17-19: Tampa Bay Rays

April 24-26: at Baltimore Orioles

May 2012 (7 Home, 3 Road)

May 14-15: Tampa Bay Rays

May 16-17: New York Yankees

May 21-23: at Tampa Bay Rays

May 28-30: Baltimore Orioles

June 2012 (3 Home, 3 Road)

June 1-3: Boston Red Sox

June 25-27: at Boston Red Sox

July 2012 (0 Home, 6 Road)

July 16-18: at New York Yankees

July 20-22: at Boston Red Sox

August 2012 (5 Home, 9 Road)

August 7-9: at Tampa Bay Rays

August 10-12: New York Yankees

August 24-26: at Baltimore Orioles

August 27-29: at New York Yankees

August 30-31: Tampa Bay Rays

September And October 2012 (12 Home, 12 Road)

September 1-2: Tampa Bay Rays (Continued)

September 3-5: Baltimore Orioles

September 7-9: at Boston Red Sox

September 14-16: Boston Red Sox

September 18-20: at New York Yankees

September 21-23: at Tampa Bay Rays

September 24-26: at Baltimore Orioles

September 27-30: New York Yankees

MLB schedules subject to change due to rainouts or any other unanticipated postponement.

Joshua Huffman grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as a Green Bay Packers and Chicago Cubs enthusiast. He immediately gained an admiration for Cubs fans after watching numerous games on WGN during the mid-90s. His favorite Cubs moment was Kerry Wood’s(notes) 1-hitter, 20K extravaganza that was only denied of a no-hitter by Kevin Orie’s defensive blunder. As a Packers and Cubs fan, he suffered through Steve Bartman and “4th & 26″ in a span of three months. He can be found on Twitter HERE.

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The Boston Red Sox will play a slate of 72 regular-season games against their AL East rivals that include the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays. They’ll have 36 home games and 36 away games.

The Red Sox will host their first divisional series of the season when they play the Rays from April 13 through April 16. Their first series against the Yankees will occur at Fenway Park from April 20 through April 22. The Red Sox will finish their season with a three-game series in New York from October 1 through October 3.

Here is a brief rundown of Boston’s schedule against divisional opponents for the 2012 MLB season. All series against the Yankees are italicized and in bold.

Complete MLB schedule can be found HERE.

April 2012 (7 Home, 3 Road)

April 9-11: at Toronto Blue Jays

April 13-16: Tampa Bay Rays

April 20-22: New York Yankees

May 2012 (6 Home, 5 Road)

May 4-6: Baltimore Orioles

May 16-17: at Tampa Bay Rays

May 21-23: at Baltimore Orioles

May 25-27: Tampa Bay Rays

June 2012 (6 Home, 3 Road)

June 1-3: at Toronto Blue Jays

June 5-7: Baltimore Orioles

June 25-27: Toronto Blue Jays

July 2012 (6 Home, 6 Road)

July 6-8: New York Yankees

July 13-15: at Tampa Bay Rays

July 20-22: Toronto Blue Jays

July 27-29: at New York Yankees

August 2012 (0 Home, 6 Road)

August 14-16: at Baltimore Orioles

August 17-19: at New York Yankees

September And October 2012 (11 Home, 13 Road)

September 7-9: Toronto Blue Jays

September 11-13: New York Yankees

September 14-16: at Toronto Blue Jays

September 17-20: at Tampa Bay Rays

September 21-23: Baltimore Orioles

September 25-26: Tampa Bay Rays

September 28-30: at Baltimore Orioles

October 1-3: at New York Yankees

MLB schedules subject to change due to rainouts or any other unanticipated postponement.

Joshua Huffman grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as a Green Bay Packers and Chicago Cubs enthusiast. He immediately gained an admiration for Cubs fans after watching numerous games on WGN during the mid-90s. His favorite Cubs moment was Kerry Wood’s(notes) 1-hitter, 20K extravaganza that was only denied of a no-hitter by Kevin Orie’s defensive blunder. As a Packers and Cubs fan, he suffered through Steve Bartman and “4th & 26″ in a span of three months. He can be found on Twitter HERE.

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New York Yankees announcer Ken Singleton was a favorite player of mine, despite my allegiance to the Bronx Bombers. Singleton seemingly wore out the Yankees whenever he played them, but now he is familiar to New York fans as a color man/play-by-play announcer on the YES Network that telecasts Yankee games. Singleton was no slouch as a player, making the All-Star team three times and twice finishing in the top three in Most Valuable Player voting.

Here are five things about Ken Sinlgeton’s career you might not remember:

1. Glad I Met Ya

The New York Mets originally drafted Singleton in 1967 with the third pick in the first round of the amateur draft. However, they traded him to the Montreal Expos in 1972 for Rusty Staub after he played only two years in New York. With the Expos, Singleton posted one of his best seasons, with 103 runs batted in during 1973. Eventually, Montreal sent Ken to the Baltimore Orioles, where he played for 10 seasons. With the Orioles, Singleton had two seasons with at least 104 runs batted in, another with 99, and two more with at least 80 on his way to 1,065 for his career.

2. Slow Afoot

Speed was not part of Singleton’s repertoire. He hit just 25 triples over 2,082 contests and stole only 21 bases, being thrown out 36 times. Kenny also hit into 248 double plays, good for 29th place on the all-time twin killings list.

3. Postseason Star

Singleton reached the playoffs twice, both times as an Oriole. He hit .375 versus the California Angles in the 1979 American League Championship Series and then batted .357 in a seven-game World Series loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1983, Singleton had a more limited role in the postseason, collecting three base hits in 13 at-bats as the Orioles became world champions.

4. Anchored in the Outfield

Kenny never played anywhere but in the outfield, with right field being his position for 1,314 of the games he played. He manned center field just three times, while he patrolled left field on 247 occasions. The rest of the games he participated in were as a designated hitter or as a pinch hitter.

5. Walks to Strikeouts

The ratio of walks to strikeouts over Singleton’s career was nearly one-to-one. He fanned 1,246 times and took 1,263 free passes. Ken led the American League in intentional walks twice, in 1979 with 16, and in 1983 with 19. Oddly enough, in the three seasons in between, opposing hurlers walks him on purpose just nine times combined.

I have been a Yankee fan for 45 years, with Singleton being a player I always thought was classy.

Source:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/singlke01.shtml

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The 2012 New York Yankees will play a schedule that includes 72 regular-season games against AL East opponents such as the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays. The amount of road and home games will be split in half (36 each).

The Yankees will begin the season with a divisional road series against the Rays from April 6 through April 8. Their first home series against an AL East team will occur against the from April 30 through May 2. They’ll complete the season with a three-game series against the Red Sox from October 1 through October 3.

The first series against the Red Sox will occur at Fenway Park from April 20 through April 22. The Yankees will host the Red Sox for the first time in 2012 from July 27 through July 29.

Here is a brief rundown of the Yankees’ schedule against divisional opponents for the 2012 MLB season. All series against the Red Sox have been italicized and placed in bold.

Complete MLB schedule can be found HERE.

April 2012 (1 Home, 9 Road)

April 6-8: at Tampa Bay Rays (Opening Day)

April 9-11: at Baltimore Orioles

April 20-22: at Boston Red Sox

April 30: Baltimore Orioles (Divisional Home-Opener)

May 2012 (5 Home, 4 Road)

May 1-2: Baltimore Orioles (Continued)

May 8-10: Tampa Bay Rays

May 14-15: at Baltimore Orioles

May 16-17: at Toronto Blue Jays

June 2012 (3 Home, 0 Road)

June 5-7: Tampa Bay Rays

July 2012 (8 Home, 6 Road)

July 2-4: at Tampa Bay Rays

July 6-8: at Boston Red Sox

July 16-18: Toronto Blue Jays

July 27-29: Boston Red Sox

July 30-31: Baltimore Orioles

August 2012 (8 Home, 3 Road)

August 1: Baltimore Orioles (Continued)

August 10-12: at Toronto Blue Jays

August 17-19: Boston Red Sox

August 27-29: Toronto Blue Jays

August 31: Baltimore Orioles

September And October 2012 (11 Home, 14 Road)

September 1-2: Baltimore Orioles (Continued)

September 3-5: at Tampa Bay Rays

September 6-9: at Baltimore Orioles

September 11-13: at Boston Red Sox

September 14-16: Tampa Bay Rays

September 18-20: Toronto Blue Jays

September 27-30: at Toronto Blue Jays (Road Season Finale)

October 1-3: Boston Red Sox (Season Finale)

MLB schedules subject to change due to rainouts or any other unanticipated postponement.

Joshua Huffman grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as a Green Bay Packers and Chicago Cubs enthusiast. He immediately gained an admiration for Cubs fans after watching numerous games on WGN during the mid-90s. His favorite Cubs moment was Kerry Wood’s(notes) 1-hitter, 20K extravaganza that was only denied of a no-hitter by Kevin Orie’s defensive blunder. As a Packers and Cubs fan, he suffered through Steve Bartman and “4th & 26″ in a span of three months. He can be found on Twitter HERE.

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