Baltimore Orioles 6 — New York Yankees 1
Absent offense shut down by rookie Gonzalez in the 6-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
Hiroki Kuroda pitched effectively and efficiently but the home runs loom large when the offense cannot be found. In 8.1 innings, he gave up 8 hits but the biggest hits were the long ball. All-or-nothing batter, Mark Reynolds, had a big night for the Orioles which he started with a two-run home run off of Kuroda in the 2nd inning. The other damaging home run on Kuroda’s line was a solo home run by J.J. Hardy in the 6th inning. Kuroda ran into some problem in the 8th inning when the Orioles led off with two singles but a couple of well-played outs including an out at home eliminated the threat. Clay Rapada would get an out in the 9th inning after Kuroda exited with 99 pitches. Sinker ball pitcher Derek Lowe had difficulties with that when Mark Reynolds finished off his night with his second home run of the night. A trio of singles brought in one more run against Derek Lowe as well. Six runs is usually enough to win and when the Yankees offense cannot make anything happen, it may seem beyond insurmountable.
Without Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, the Yankees lineup has looked anything but intimidating, even in the friendly confines in the Bronx. The Yankees had just 4 opportunities with runners in scoring position and did nothing with it. Rookie Miguel Gonzalez silenced the weak Yankees lineup with 7 innings of 4-hit baseball with a career-high 9 strikeouts. The Yankees struck out a total of 12 times and the only offense came in the 9th inning when Curtis Granderson hit a home run off of left-hander Brian Matusz.
Win – Miguel Gonzalez (6-3)
Loss – Hiroki Kuroda (12-10)
Notables
Orioles
*Mark Reynolds – 2 for 4, 2 R, 2 HRs (14; 2-Run & Solo) in the 2nd & 9th, 3 RBI (45)
*J.J. Hardy – 1 for 5, R, Solo Home Run (18) in the 6th, RBI (54)
Yankees
*Curtis Granderson – 1 for 4, R, Solo Home Run (34) in the 9th, RBI (79)
*Derek Jeter – 1 for 4
Current Yankees Record: 75-56
