The Orioles endured another delay tonight, this one lasting 13 minutes as the Yankee Stadium grounds crew applied a drying agent around home plate and on the mound.
As if that's going to do any good.
The crew should have dumped a few sacks of it on the warning track.
Matt Angle lost his footing while trying to track Francisco Cervelli's fly ball in the fifth inning, breaking back and in and sideways before dropping it and allowing Jorge Posada to score for a 2-0 lead.
Posada reached on Mark Reynolds' first error at first base, and his 27th this season.
Pitcher Tommy Hunter was late covering the bag. His oxygen tank must be slowing him down.
Vladimir Guerrero has two hits tonight, and four in this series.
Instant update: Matt Wieters hit a two-run homer off Phil Hughes in the top of the sixth to tie the game, 2-2.
Wieters is 2-for-3. He was 2-for-12 lifetime against Hughes before tonight.
He's clearly a mudder.
Wieters has 17 homers and 57 RBIs this season.
Hunter has a strange line through five innings. He's allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit, no walks and six strikeouts. He's also hit a batter.
Update II: Mark Teixeira's single off the right-field fence gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead and put runners on the corners with no outs.
Hunter appeared to strike out Curtis Granderson as Matt Wieters was throwing out Derek Jeter at second base, but the plate umpire blew the call. Wieters rose from his crouch, which might have caused an obstruction, but it should have been a double play.
To his credit, Hunter didn't allow another run, but the Yankees are back in front.
Keep in mind that Hunter was hospitalized after the last home game with some sort of virus, and he stayed back at the team hotel during the first game in St. Petersburg. These conditions aren't exactly what the doctor ordered.
I'm not saying there's a lot of water on the field, but the Orioles just purchased Michael Phelps' contract.
Hello? Is this thing on?
Update III: Nick Markakis' double off reliever Boone Logan with two outs in the seventh scored Robert Andino and tied the game, 3-3, as the rain picks up in intensity.
Kudos to Angle for laying down a sacrifice bunt that moved Robert Andino to second base.
Update IV: Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the seventh to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead.
Nothing is normal tonight.
Umpires upheld their call on Cervelli's homer after a male fan in the first row reached for the ball and deflected it. Angle made a leaping attempt and wasn't anywhere near it, so he had no shot at a catch, but manager Buck Showalter argued that the fan leaned over the fence and interfered.
Gardner hit the right field foul pole.
Clay Rapada has replaced Hunter with two outs in the seventh. Hunter deserved a much better fate tonight.
Update V: Mariano Rivera retired Robert Andino on a fly ball, struck out Nolan Reimold and retired J.J. Hardy on a tapper to the mound. They were all the potential tying run in a 5-3 loss.
Who's ready for the 1:05 p.m. game?
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