CC Sabathia can’t get win number 20 as Yankees lose to Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles have been out of the post-season race for quite some time now, but they are playing for respect and wanted to prove that Monday’s 4-3 win in the Bronx was no fluke. Prior to that, their first win in the Bronx was on 12 September, 2009.
Coming off a superb outing, Baltimore continued to step up against the Yankees and denied CC Sabathia his bid to become the first Major League pitcher to win a 20th game this season, handing New York a 6-2 loss at Yankee Stadium.
The New York Yankees, who sit atop in the American League East with the best record in the majors, lost their third straight game, and this was Sabathia’s second career loss in 19 starts against the Orioles.
This is Baltimore's second consecutive victory against the Yankees, who are in the thick of a playoff push and trying to hold off the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.
Baltimore lineup pushed the Yankees’ ace around early, as the Orioles jumped in the lead in the first inning by scoring three runs and added another two in the third inning.
"They were really aggressive and swinging early," said Sabathia, who lost at Yankee Stadium for the first time since July 2009. "They got some balls to hit, and they didn't miss them. You've got to go out and execute your game plan. Theirs was a little better than ours today."
The lefty ran into trouble in the first frame, after Brian Roberts opened with a single, and after Felix Pie walked. Shortly after, Nick Markakis loaded the bases.
"We made a statement in the first inning, and it stuck," Adam Jones said of the O's 3-0 lead, which gave them an edge they would never relinquish.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi though perhaps wasn't willing to give as much credit to the Orioles, instead pointing out he thought his ace wasn't on his usual form. “It just seemed he was a little off tonight," said Girardi. "I didn't think he threw terrible. I just thought he wasn't quite down in the zone as much as we're used to seeing."
Tuesday’s win improves the Orioles to 21-13 under manager Buck Showalter and is Baltimore's second victory this season at Yankee Stadium. The loss puts the Rays only 1.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL East division. Losing games to the Orioles, even the newly resurgent Baltimore squad, doen't too much for New York's hopes of holding the divisional lead.
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