Miley will try to keep the Orioles rolling

NEW YORK - The Orioles managed last night to win the opener of a series at Yankee Stadium for the first time since Aug. 31, 2012. They had lost 11 in a row.

It really is a special September stretch. Now, let's see what they can do in October.

The Rangers clinched home field in the postseason and would play the Orioles in the American League Division Series. The latter has to advance, of course, but for planning purposes ...

The Orioles could mash their way to Arlington, perhaps going on another three-homer binge in a single inning. They've done it an astounding 10 times this season.

"It's good," said second baseman Jonathan Schoop. "We've got a power team and everybody is capable of catching one.

"The power is just one thing. We pitch, we defend and we prove that we score not only when we hit home run. We score when we move the runner over, sac fly, everything. We're a really good team."

It certainly helps the Orioles that Schoop is heating up again. He's really scuffled in the second half and was especially lost in September until the past three games.

"Every day I come to the park to help the team win, try to do something, try to help the team in defense, offense, whatever," Schoop said.

Perhaps overlooked last night was the routine eighth inning from Darren O'Day. He retired the top of the order on a liner to center field, a strikeout and a pop up.

O'Day hadn't pitched since Sept. 23.

"We had six days and we could never really get that spot," said manager Buck Showalter. "He had a work day either yesterday or the day before yesterday in Toronto, and Wally (Dave Wallace) and Dom (Chiti) came in and said, 'He's close.'

"That was good tonight, especially in those conditions. If we could get in (the playoffs), he'd be a nice piece for us to add that we've been missing. That was encouraging tonight."

The Orioles could clinch tonight without a wild champagne celebration. They could win this afternoon and wait for the Blue Jays to lose later tonight. Sort of like celebrating on the team charter in 2012 after learning that they qualified for the wild card game.

They just need to keep taking care of business.

Left-hander Wade Miley came within an out of a complete-game shutout in his last start and he's allowed only one run in his last two outings over 12 2/3 innings. Like Yovani Gallardo, he's pitching for a spot on the Division Series roster if the Orioles get that far.

Miley is 0-3 with a 5.77 ERA in six career starts against the Yankees and 0-0 with a 4.76 ERA in three starts in the Bronx, with nine runs and 17 hits allowed in 17 innings. He faced the Yankees on Sept. 4 at Camden Yards and allowed four runs and five hits with four walks in five innings.

Starlin Castro is 3-for-18 against Miley. Brian McCann is 5-for-13 with a double and home run.

The Yankees announced last night that Luis Severino would start tonight. They decided to shut down Masahiro Tanaka after a career-high 31 starts.

Severino is 3-8 with a 5.75 ERA in 21 games, including 10 starts. Tonight marks only his second start since Aug. 14, and in the last one, he worked one inning and threw 34 pitches in Toronto.

Severino was 0-6 with a 7.46 ERA in seven starts in the first half. He's 3-2 with a 3.90 ERA in 14 games (three starts) since the break.

The Orioles have seen Severino in three games this season, including one start. He's 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in nine innings.

Severino is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in four career games (two starts) versus the Orioles. The current group is 8-for-46 against him. Mark Trumbo is 2-for-4 with two home runs and Manny Machado is 2-for-6 with a double and home run.