Jones leaves with hamstring strain (O's blown out 14-4)

NEW YORK - Before today's game, it seemed clear that Orioles manager Buck Showalter was not convinced that center fielder Adam Jones was going to start tonight's game.

That was after Jones was pinch-hit for the in ninth inning last night due to cramping in his hamstring. Tonight, Jones did start, batted once and was removed when the Orioles took the field for the second inning.

It was announced that Jones left the game with a left hamstring strain. Nolan Reimold was in the on-deck circle to bat for Jones when the top of the second ended. Then, Reimold entered for Jones on defense when the Orioles took the field.

Jones led off the game with a slow roller to third and was thrown out on a close play. He ran hard through the bag, but looked to be moving gingerly as he jogged back to the dugout. Jones began tonight batting .276 with 24 homers and 74 RBIs.

Reimold made an error in center field as New York scored six times in the second inning to expand on a 2-1 lead and turn it into a 8-1 edge. With one out in the frame, Chase Headley singled and Yovani Gallardo walked Aaron Judge. Then, Ronald Torreyes hit a fly ball into short center. Reimold charged in, but the ball glanced off his glove for an E8.

It only got worse from there.

Brett Gardner singled in two runs for a 4-1 lead and Jacoby Ellsbury poked a single into left to make it 5-1. Gary Sanchez then lined one into right field. Mark Trumbo had some trouble with the carom as it went for a two-run double and a 7-1 lead. The hit also knocked Gallardo from the game.

Mark Teixeira greeted Vance Worley by lining a single to right that scored Sanchez and New York had an 8-1 lead. The Yankees squared up just about anything thrown at them in the first two innings.

Gallardo lasted just 1 1/3 innings, the shortest start of his career, and gave up six hits and a season-high eight runs. His ERA jumped from 5.08 to 5.79.

It seems like a long time ago, but the Orioles actually led this game 1-0 when Manny Machado crushed a homer to center off Luis Cessa in the first inning. Machado hit No. 30 on a 2-1 fastball.

For the first time in team history, the Orioles have three players with 30 or more homers in one season as Trumbo has 38, while Chris Davis and Machado have 30 each.

That lead didn't last long. Teixeira, hitting just .197 coming into the game, blasted a two-run homer to center and New York led 2-1 after an inning. But it would get worse for the Orioles, who are getting blasted in the Bronx.

It got even worse: The Yankees now lead 12-1 in the sixth inning after Headley hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Sanchez added a two-run blast in the fifth. Sanchez is 3-for-4 with four RBIs tonight. Over his last 10 games, he is 20-for-36 (.556) with eight homers and 14 RBIs.

The Orioles, Captain Obvious said, have had a terrible night, and they may soon need pitching and outfield reinforcements.

Machado again: Machado hit his second homer of the night. His two-run shot to right in the sixth made it a 12-3 game and was No. 31. Machado has three multi-homer games this year and nine in his career.

Finally, a final: The Orioles suffered one of their worst defeats of the year tonight, getting pounded 14-4 at Yankee Stadium. They fall to 70-58 and have lost seven of 11 and 18 of their last 30 games. They are 19-22 in the second half.

Machado hit two homers, but O's pitching gave up three and allowed 18 hits. The Yankees' 14 runs is one off an O's opponent's high for the season. Houston scored 15 on Aug. 19. This ties for the worst loss of the season by run margin, as the Orioles have now lost by 10 runs three times in 2016.

After Gallardo's early exit, Vance Worley gave up four runs and eight hits over 3 2/3 and Mike Wright allowed two runs over three innings.

Now, we await further word on Jones' hamstring and to see if the Orioles will need to make yet another move, or moves, before tomorrow's game for more bullpen help.

Check back later for a wrap-up entry with postgame quotes from Yankee Stadium.