New York Yankees 2012 regular season review – Part 4
After suffering an embarrassing series sweep at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees were looking to put things back on the right track in their next three match series against the Baltimore Orioles and that is exactly what they did in Game
1 on April 9.
Yankees’ pitching rotation played a big part in deciding the outcome of the clash, limiting the Orioles to just two runs in hitter friendly conditions as Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland.
Starting pitcher Ivan Nova led from the front as he allowed just two earned runs in seven solid innings. Striking out seven hitters, he ensured the Yankees were in a strong position throughout his stay on the mound.
Relief pitcher David Robertson and Mariano Rivera also pitched with great control and accuracy as the combined to toss up two scoreless innings and the Yankees held on their lead with ease to take a vital 1-0 series lead.
Baltimore’s starter Brian Matusz took his first loss of the season after he allowed six hits and four runs in just four innings of start.
"A lot of times the first of everything is the most difficult to get in a season," Jeter said. "Whether it's the first hit, first RBI, first win."
"It's good to get the first one," Jeter said. "You don't want to think about it too long."
"It's nice to shake hands again. You go all winter, and in spring training not many of us are there in the ninth inning to shake hands," first baseman Mark Teixeira said. "It's nice to go through the line again."http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/3520/andruw-jones"You always want to get that first one out of the way," manager Joe Girardi said.
Mark Teixeira put Yankees on the board with an RBI single to right centre in the first innings. Russell Martin, Eduardo Nunez and Derek Jeter made very useful contributions to help the Yankees claim a handsome 4-1 lead in the fourth inning. Andrew Jones
belted a solo home run to left in the sixth to deny the O’s any chance of bouncing back into the contest.
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