Orioles 6
Yankees 5
The Yankees fell 90 feet short of extra innings last night,and one hit short of what would have been a thrilling ninth-inning comeback victory.
But some might argue the game was lost 60 feet,6 inches from the plate a few innings earlier by shaky Chien-Ming Wang. Hideki Matsui was frozen for strike three on a full-count,off-speed pitch by Baltimore closer Chris Ray with the bases loaded in the ninth,and the Bombers fell, 6-5,in gloriously heart-wrenching fashion.
The Yankees ‘attempted rally in the ninth began with Derek Jeter ‘s one-out walk. Gary Sheffield singled to center,but Alex Rodriguez was eliminated on a 96 mph fastball.During an at-bat to Jason Giambi,Jeter and Sheffield moved up a base, and Giambi was walked on four pitches to load the bases.
Up came Matsui,who worked the count full but stood hopelessly as Ray ‘s breaking ball floated over the outside part of the plate to end the game.
At times last night,Baltimore couldn ‘t get the ball out of the infield off Wang. At other times,Wang pretty much beat himself. Wang ‘s baffling inconsistency continued through his fourth start,leading Yankees fans to scratch their heads about the 26-year-old.The right-hander took the hill in the sixth with a one-run lead,and he hit the showers
trailing before the inning was over.
A nine-game homestand began with little clutch hitting and lackluster pitching. Whom will the Yankees (7-8)be getting this season?
The Wang who allowed one earned run over seven innings in his previous start in Minnesota,or last night ‘s Wang,who was charged with six earned runs in 5 1 /3 innings?
Seven of the first nine batters grounded out against the sinkerballer.Then he momentarily lost his control with two outs in the third, which probably cost him a victory.
Five-pitch walks to Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis followed Kevin Millar ‘s oneout double and loaded the bases.Through smart baserunning,the Orioles scored their two runs on Melvin Mora ‘s infield single in the hole.
Because of a full count, Roberts was moving on the pitch and already was at third before Mora ‘s ball was in play.Mora,who was ahead 3-0 at one point,hit a grounder in the hole and Jeter tried to throw him out with a sidearmed toss.
The throw was high and made Andy Phillips leap off the bag,and Mora slid in with his hand just before Phillips ‘foot came down.It was a bang-bang play,and replays appeared Mora was correctly ruled safe.That gave Baltimore a 2-1 lead, and the next hitter,Miguel Tejada,stroked an RBI single.
The Yankees jumped on top in the first on Jeter ‘s one-out triple off the fence in right-center and Sheffield ‘s RBI single past third. Robinson Cano tied the game at 3-3 in the fourth with a towering two-run homer just inside the right-
field line off former Met Kris Benson.
The Bombers took a brief lead in the bottom of the fifth,earning an unearned run on hustle.Johnny Damon ‘s swinging bunt single turned into two bases when catcher Ramon Hernandez threw errantly into the stands,and Damon astutely tagged up to third on Jeter ‘s lineout to right.Rodriguez ‘s RBI single scored Damon. Wang couldn ‘t stem the Baltimore tide.He came up too soon trying to field Tejada ‘s leadoff single in the sixth,and it ricocheted off
his foot into no man ‘s land.
Two more singles followed, but Wang retired Tejada on a force at the plate on Javy Lopez ‘s comebacker.
Kevin Millar followed with the blow that knocked out Wang,a two-run line single to right that gave Baltimore the lead for good.
