NEW YORK - Manager Buck Showalter pointed out yesterday that the Orioles weren't going to New York to soak up the atmosphere. He mentioned today that he looks "up" at the standings, not down to check on the teams giving chase.
Message received.
The Orioles have taken a 3-0 lead over the Yankees in the second inning on Chris Davis' sacrifice fly and Mark Reynolds' two-run homer.
Reynolds' ball landed in the first row of the second deck in left field, just above the red Modell's sign.
It's the art of the home run. (See what I did there?)
The Orioles wasted a leadoff single by Nick Markakis in the first, but Adam Jones and Matt Wieters opened the second with singles before Davis and Reynolds did their damage.
Reynolds has 13 home runs this season. None of them have been cheap.
The Orioles are 45-17 when they score first and 64-31 when they hit a home run.
Omar Quintanilla struck out after Reynolds' homer, leaving him hitless in his last 20 at-bats.
Update: Miguel Gonzalez has retired the first nine batters, with a little help from Reynolds, who made a sensational diving catch to rob Russell Martin in the third inning.
Here's a note from the Orioles:
With the postseason races heating up, the Orioles will be featured in a new national TV series called "Caught Looking," produced by Major League Baseball Productions and airing on NBC Sports Network.
For this weekend's series between the Orioles and the Yankees, crews from MLB Productions will be embedded behind the scenes with both teams, producing a one-hour show debuting next Thursday, Sept. 6, at 9:00 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. "Caught Looking" will give viewers an inside look at what goes on behind the scenes during a pennant race including an in-depth look at each game from different angles and perspectives than fans are used to seeing.
A different series with playoff implications will be featured each week for the rest of the season.
Update II: J.J. Hardy hit his 18th home run, a solo shot in the sixth that increased the Orioles' lead to 4-0.
Gonzalez has retired 15 of the first 16 batters. Derek Jeter singled leading off the fourth. That's it.
Gonzalez has struck out seven batters, one short of his season/career high.
Update III: The Yankees didn't have a three-ball count until the sixth, when Jayson Nix walked after Ichiro Suzuki's leadoff single.
Derek Jeter grounded into a force - Manny Machado made a poor throw to second and Reynolds saved Quintanilla from an error by lunging for the ball and keeping his toe on the bag - and Gonzalez stranded runners on the corners by striking out Nick Swisher and retiring Robinson Cano on a foul pop.
Gonzalez has thrown 79 pitches in six innings, 53 for strikes.
Yankees fans are booing each failed at-bat. They also sounded off after Hardy's home run.
Update IV: Gonzalez allowed four hits over seven scoreless innings, with one walk, nine strikeouts and one wild pitch. He threw 97 pitches, 66 for strikes.
Darren O'Day replaced Gonzalez, who hadn't pitched since Aug. 20.
The Orioles are 30-2 when their starter goes seven innings or more. They're 56-0 when leading after the seventh.
Reynolds has made three outstanding plays at first base tonight. He still prefers playing third base, but he's so much better at the opposite corner.
Update V: Have yourself a night, Mark Reynolds.
Reynolds just produced the 16th multi-homer game of his career with a solo shot off Derek Lowe in the top of the ninth inning. Reynolds also homered twice on Aug. 14.
Markakis singled to drive in Robert Andino, who replaced Quintanilla at second base in the seventh inning. Markakis has three more hits tonight as the leadoff hitter.
Machado has singled twice, and the Orioles are outhitting the Yankees, 12-4.
Orioles 6, Yankees 0.
The fans are still booing here.
Update VI: Curtis Granderson homered off Brian Matusz in the ninth, but the Orioles won 6-1 to move 15 games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 1997 season.
The Orioles are 57-0 when leading after the seventh and 60-1 when leading after the eighth.
The Orioles now trail the Yankees by just two games in the American League East.
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