New York Yankees 2012 regular season review – Part 36
After taking an 8-5 loss in the opener, Baltimore Orioles regrouped and fought back superbly in Game 2 two of the series to avoid another embarrassing series sweep at the hands of New York Yankees.
Starting pitcher Wei Yin Chen played a big part in deciding the outcome of the clash as he gave up four hits and two runs in seven innings to claim his fourth straight win of the season. Chen used his fastballs and sliders extremely effectively to create
all sorts of problems for the powerful Yankees’ batting lineup.
Relief pitchers Pedro Strop pitched the scoreless eighth and closer Jim Johnson pitched the perfect ninth give Orioles a much needed victory against their American league East Division rivals.
For New York, ace CC Sabathia had a decent time on the mound but he was unfortunate to end up on the losing side. Overall, he allowed eight hits and four runs in six innings to take his first loss of the season. Relief pitcher Freddy Garcia tossed up two
solid innings but the night belonged to the Orioles who held on to their slim lead to level up the series.
"The first time, the debut I was so nervous," Chen said through an interpreter. "This time, I was just like I've had this experience already so everything was fine to me."
"I don't know if it was somebody in midnight blue or black and orange there," Showalter said. "I've got an educated guess."
"It started with our pitching," Jones said with a smile on his face. "Chen halted that lineup and gave us an opportunity."
"They're a much improved team," manager Joe Girardi said in a post game interview. "Their pitching has improved dramatically. That's the big difference."
Adam Jones provided Baltimore with an excellent start as he homered to left in the second inning to break the deadlock and put Yankees on the board. J.J. Hardy had an excellent outing as he drove in vital runs to stretch Orioles’ lead to 4-0. Jones scored
on a passed ball in the seventh inning to close out an important win for his team.
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