The Orioles bounced back from their heartbreaking loss on Friday night to take game two in the series against the Yankees and force a rubber game on Sunday. Jason Hammel pitched well for the O's and home runs from Nolan Reimold, Nick Markakis, and Ryan Flaherty led the offense.
Phil Hughes made the start for the Yankees and he was not good, to put it frankly. He lasted just three innings plus two batters in the fourth before being knocked out of the game. He gave up all five runs that the Orioles scored. He was followed by David Phelps, who pitched four great innings and might steal Hughes' place in the rotation if things keep going the way they have.
Hammel did have his troubles, giving up two home runs himself. They game to two new Yankees, the ones that all non-Yankee fans hope will be awful this season: Vernon Wells and Travis Hafner. Even so Hammel got through six innings with three runs, the old quality start. Brian Matusz, Darren O'Day, and Jim Johnson closed it out with three scoreless innings.
Nate McLouth had a big day with three hits and a really great play in the outfield that almost went over his head. The non-HR RBI came from Adam Jones and J.J. Hardy, both on ground outs. The Orioles went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Stay tuned for the full recap and the poll for tonight's Most Birdland Player
Source: FanGraphs