COMEBACK SPOILED AS YANKEES CAN'T SOLVE THE PUZZLE

The Yankees came into this game with a one-game lead, and the home crowd came out to support an Orioles team that has not been competitive since their wire-to-wire division championship in 1997. This was a crucial game for both teams. The Yankees needed to establish their dominance and extend their lead in the division. The Orioles needed to take advantage of what is probably their best chance to take a division lead in this 4-game series. The opening game would be important.

David Phelps has been on a bad stretch, and it continued tonight. Almost from the first pitch, it was obvious that tonight was not going to be his night. After a hard grounder from Nick Markakis to start things off, J.J. Hardy, Nate McLouth, and Adam Jones hit back-to-back-to-back singles. The first pitch to the next batter, Matt Wieters was launched into the seats, giving the Orioles a 4-0 lead before the second out was recorded. Hoping to hold them there, Phelps did retire the side in order in the second and the third innings. In the fourth inning, he gave up another home run, this time to Robert Andino, giving Baltimore a 5-1 lead.

Jason Hammel, who came into this game with an 8-6 record, held the Yankees almost silent for 5+ innings. He gave up only one run on six hits and two walks, but was helped mightily by six strikeouts and a pair of double plays. His change up and off-speed pitches were working, and these seem to have been the weapons of choice against Yankee bats lately. He left with a 5-1 lead and if you were an Orioles fan, you thought the game was done.

Randy Wolf followed Hammel holding the Yankees until the top of the 8th, when the wheels came off. After giving up a walk to Nick Swisher, Alex Rodriguez doubled Swisher in, and Eric Chavez reached on a walk before Wolf was pulled for Pedro Strop. Much to the Yankee fans' delight (and relief), Strop failed to record an out. Curtis Granderson got an RBI single and a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third. Back-to-back walks to Russell Martin and Chris Dickerson brought them within two. Ichiro Suzuki followed with a 2-RBI base hit to tie the game, and that was all for Strop.

The Yankees bullpen completely melted down and embarrassed the team tonight. David Robertson, who has been the owner of the 8th inning and highly reliable earlier in the season, faced three batters and did not get a single batter out. He gave up a huge home run to Adam Jones - his second of the night - and turned the momentum right back over to the Orioles. Matt Wieters followed with a base hit. Mark Reynolds has been an absolute nightmare for the Yankees, and Robertson's pitched down the middle was set up for his second home run of the night. Boone Logan came in and faced one batter - Chris Davis - and gave up the third consecutive home run. Derek Lowe, who stopped the bleeding, was the only pitcher who gave a respectable showing in the eighth. Despite this nightmare of a game for the Yankees, we can hand out two honorable mention.

• Ichiro Suzuki recorded three base hits tonight, the last of which tied the game in dramatic fashion in the top of the eighth.
• Alex Rodriguez, for getting a base hit in each of his games since his return from the DL. Technically, he extended his hitting streak to 10 games tonight. The base hit was a double in the eighth inning, which started the rally that tied the game. He certainly made a case for driving in and scoring "meaningful" runs.

It is hard for me not to sound bitter and just vent in this forum, but it is getting frustrating for us die hards. After coming back from five runs down, this game should have been won by the Yankees. Their bullpen could not be relied on, and it is starting to feel like you never know what you're going to get from our pitchers or our hitters. Make no mistake - this team is loaded with talent, but they are not even close to playing to championship form. They need to get back to what they are capable, and fast.

Final Score: Orioles 10, Yankees 6

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon

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