Yankees take advantage of walks to get lead, beat Orioles 5-3

Orioles right-hander Mike Wright had worked out of some jams earlier in the game and retired the Yankees 1-2-3 in the fourth inning. So manager Buck Showalter probably felt confident the rookie could give him another inning as Wright took the mound for the fifth inning with his pitch count at 86 and a 3-2 lead.

But he walked the Yankees' Chase Headley to lead off the frame. Then, he walked Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira to load the bases with no outs.

Handed a rally, the Yankees cashed that in for three runs to take the lead, and they went on to beat the Orioles 5-3 on a hot and steamy afternoon in front of 36,343 at Camden Yards.

Brian Matusz, whose eight-game suspension ended today, came on after Wright issued those walks and promptly walked Garrett Jones to force in the tying run, making it 3-3. But then Matusz fanned two straight batters. He was an out away from escaping further damage, but didn't get it as catcher John Ryan Murphy's two-run double gave New York the 5-3 lead.

With a win, the O's would have recorded back-to-back series sweeps of Boston and New York for the first time since Sept. 9-13, 1970.

The O's winning streak ended at six games as the Orioles fall back to the .500 mark at 31-31; the Yankees snapped a three-game losing streak and are 34-28. The O's are three games back of New York.

Wright went four-plus innings, allowing six hits and five runs. He threw 104 pitches, 62 for strikes. He falls to 2-2 with a 4.13 ERA. After not allowing a run over 14 1/3 innings his first two starts, Wright has allowed 20 hits and 13 runs in 14 innings over his past three starts.

In the O's first, Nolan Reimold's two-run single provided a 2-1 O's lead and made him 2-for-3 with runners in scoring position since his call-up. But Brett Gardner's sac fly tied it 2-2 in the second.

Caleb Joseph had yet another big hit against the Yankees - coming up with an RBI double in the fourth - as the O's took the 3-2 lead. Joseph is 15-for-28 with three doubles, a triple, two homers and six RBIs against New York this year.

The Orioles homestand continues the next two nights against the Philadelphia Phillies. On Monday at 7:05 p.m., Wei-Yin Chen (2-4, 3.21 ERA) faces right-hander Aaron Harang (4-7, 3.04 ERA).