Baseball news: Orioles ruin Andy Pettitte’s return as the Team edges past the Yanks in the 11th
Buck Showalter had done it again. If teams, such as the New York Yankees don’t realize how a big threat this man is, then it might be too late for them to clinch the Division title. No wait, now it’s too late to make that admonishing remark. When the Yanks
faced the Baltimore Orioles earlier this month, they were thwarted 2 – 1. Against a team that was playing at home and reeling from a series loss to the table leaders, manager Joe Girardi needed to focus well on the game. Unfortunately, that never happened.
Andy Pettitte delivered in a stunning performance and the visiting club wasted that by conceding 3 late runs against the rampant Orioles Park heroes. The 39,537 rowdy fans in Maryland were there to back the hosts up and save the squad from a humiliating clean
sweep.
For Girardi, this challenge has been more than stressful. The Tampa Bay Rays are half a point behind New York and the league is still far from over. Andy Pettitte returned from injury for the side and he delivered a knocking performance with 3 hits and a
run allowed. The maestro outclassed his counterpart, Chris Tillman from the Orioles, who lasted just 3.2 innings and conceded three hits plus 3 runs. However, the victory wasn’t going to go to the Yanks, as the Orioles made the visitors pay in the final minutes
to save the series from a clean sweep.
The Yankees were the first ones to pull a run to the front and it was Robinson Cano who shinned for the side, doing what he does best; driving in RBIs (Runs Batted In) for the score. He was able to connect well off Chris Tillman’s pitch and register his
12-game hitting streak against the Baltimore side. It all began with Brett Gardner who made his way to the first base, curtsey a walk from Tillman. The strong hitter made his way to the second when the ball thrower pitched a wild delivery. Lance Berkman then
got the player to the third with his grounder out on second. The final sprint came off Cano’s single to the centre.
The Yanks moved up a spot in the 1st inning and the Orioles were left to respond in the bottom 1st. Brian Roberts was the man to start things for the local team, and he did so with a single to the left. Pettitte was given an early lesson
on attention when he saw Roberts steal second. The batter moved to the third, following Robert Andino’s fly out to the right. He finally ran home when Adam Jones, cleverly, butted a single to the third.
Both teams had scored and were even by the end of the 1st inning; it took some good pitching from Andy to keep the hosts at bay with their ‘one.’ The Yankees are an impressive team and when the top 4th came, they proved themselves to
the audience how they really can turn the screws on the opposing team. Cano began the innings with a walk. He continued on to second, when Posada also walked. Cano then made a run for the last base after Curtis Granderson singled to the centre.
Posada reached third base in the game, but got out at home when Ramiro Pena grounded into the pitcher’s position. However, that didn’t matter as Granderson moved to score later on, following Gardner’s second walk in the game. The Orioles were down 3 – 1
and runs didn’t come when Pettitte was still on the mound. They came when Kerry Wood replaced Boone Logan on the pitcher’s plate. Corey Patterson made his way to the third base in the bottom 8th when he and Mark Weiters’ singled to the first, earlier.
Felix Pie drove in a RBI run, as he smashed a single to the centre.
Things really went Baltimore’s way in the bottom 9th. Luke Scott got the crowd behind him with a 413 feet homer to the right. That equalized the scores and pushed the sides into extra time. The winner finally came in the bottom 11th
when Ty Wigginton got Scott through his second run for the team with a single to the deep right. The Orioles won the bout in style and impressed the fans that had turned up in large numbers to support their teams.
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