New York Yankees 7 — Baltimore Orioles 2
Russell Martin comes through in the 9th in tonight’s 7-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
CC Sabathia took the mound to open the series and he pitched like the ace we expect. In 8.2 innings, Sabathia gave up just 2 runs on 8 hits with 7 strikeouts. Nate McLouth got to Sabathia in the 3rd inning for the only 2 runs for Baltimore. Sabathia would get into some difficult spots but as the ace of the staff, he settled down and kept the Yankees tied at 2 through the game. He would take the mound in the 9th inning too and would get 2 outs before a double would end Sabathia’s night. After 120 pitches, David Robertson came in for the last out and on 4 pitches, Robertson got the strikeout to get the Yankees the first game of the series.
The Yankees came out on fire with a pair of hits for a run but they also put a stop on their own momentum. Derek Jeter opened with a single as he continues to have a tremendous year. Ichiro Suzuki also continued to make his brief Yankees career shine with a hit-and-run double that brings in Derek Jeter to give the Yankees the early lead. Suzuki would make a poor baserunning decision as he attempted to steal 3rd as he would be the first out of the game. After the Yankees lost the lead in the bottom of the 3rd; they would rally to reclaim the lead. A pair of walks would put 2 on with 1 out for Mark Teixeira and he would produce to bring in 1 run with a base hit off the top of the large right field wall. The last time Teixeira played in Baltimore, he aggravated a calf injury on a bad call to end a game and it seemed that Teixeira may have not been 100% entering tonight’s game as he would be thrown out trying to stretch his single into a double. Entering the 9th inning, the game was still tied at 2 and with the Orioles at home; they turned to closer Jim Johnson, who had 51 saves in his breakout season. Russell Martin would welcome Johnson into the game with a lead off home run on a 2-0 fastball that would give the Yankees a 3-2 lead. The Yankees would get 3 consecutive singles, including a run-scoring single by Ichiro Suzuki to make it 4-2 before Johnson would get his first out of the inning. Robinson Cano would give the Yankees a 4-run lead with a 2-run double, ending Jim Johnson’s appearance. Nick Swisher would bring in another run on a sacrifice fly. The Yankees made a statement in tonight’s game as they got to one of the best closers in the game to take Game 1.
Win – CC Sabathia (1-0)
Loss – Jim Johnson (0-1)
Notables
Yankees
*Russell Martin – 1 for 3, R, BB, Solo Home Run (1) in the 9th, RBI (1)
*Ichiro Suzuki – 2 for 5, R, 2B, 2 RBI (2)
Orioles
*Nate McLouth – 1 for 4, 2 RBI (2)
*Chris Davis – 2 for 4, R
Current series: Yankees lead series 1-0
