After struggling to score all weekend in Toronto, the Yankees pounded out 12 runs and 15 hits against the free falling Orioles. It didn’t take long for the Yankees to get on the board as Nick Swisher sent the sixth pitch of the game 420 feet over the centerfield fence to give the Yankees an immediate 2-0 lead. Then, in the third, Curtis Granderson’s grand slam extended the margin to 6-0, likely causing every television set tuned into the Orioles to immediately switch over to watch Stephen Strasburg mow down the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Curtis Granderson is greeted at home plate after clearing the bases with a third inning grand slam (Photo: AP).
Phil Hughes, who entered the game as the league leader in run support, was once again the beneficiary of a Yankee offensive outburst, but for the first three innings it didn’t appear as if he would need much help. In the fourth and fifth, however, Hughes’ command abandoned him, causing the Yankees’ righty to throw 50 pitches while giving up three runs that cut the lead in half. Hughes eventually rebounded with a quick and easy 10-pitch sixth, but his mounting pitch count ensured that it would also be his last inning.
Meanwhile, with scouts on hand to evaluate Kevin Millwood in anticipation of a trade, the veteran righty allowed fifteen base runners over only 5 2/3 innings. At 0-7, Millwood’s ERA has been on the rise, while his trade value has been in decline.
In the top of the seventh, the Yankees scored six more runs, highlighted by Nick Swisher’s three run double and Mark Teixeira’s two-run homer. Although Swisher’s hit broke the game wide open, Teixeira’s blast may have been even more important as it could help ease some of the tension that has led the New York tabloids to call for the Yankee first baseman’s demotion in the lineup. Teixeira ended the night going 3-4 with two walks, matching the three-hit output of both Swisher and Cano.
Two negatives from the Yankees perspective was the hitless performance of Alex Rodriguez, who left six runners on base, as well as the dismal effort by Chad Gaudin, who yielded four runs over two innings to raise his ERA to 8.53. Gaudin has now given up a run in four of five outings since returning to the Yankees and may be looking at his third DFA this season.
Of course, the Yankees won’t get much sympathy from the Orioles, whose season is approaching historic levels of futility. At 16-42, the Orioles are on pace for their worst season in franchise history and within reach of establishing the worst record in modern history.
- The Yankees have homered in 18 straight games at Camden Yards, a record by a visiting team.
- With a home run and a double, Nick Swisher improved his OPS at Camden Yards to 1.226, the highest by any visiting player.
- Robinson Cano’s three hit performance was his 9th of the season, which is best in the American League. Nick Swisher is one behind Cano with eight such games.
- The Orioles .276 winning percentage would rank as the lowest in franchise history. The 1939 St. Louis Browns currently hold that distinction with a .279 winning percentage. The lowest winning percentage recorded in Baltimore was .335 in 1988.
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