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| All Orioles pitchers were outstanding, but let's give O'Day his due. (US Presswire) |
It took them 13 innings, but the Baltimore Orioles finally took down the Yankees Thursday night -- well, OK, Friday morning by the time it ended -- 2-1. That means the series is knotted at two and heads to a series-deciding fifth game.
Hero: Lots of pitchers to choose from here, not to mention J.J. Hardy for the go-ahead double, Nate McLouth for a great catch and solo homer and Manny Machado for his leadoff double in the 13th. But I'm gonna go with relief pitcher Darren O'Day. He threw 30 pitches in 2 2/3 scoreless innings, getting big out after big out. He's now thrown seven shutout innings in the series.
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Goat: The entire Yankees' offense. Yes, the Orioles have arguably baseball's best bullpen, but it's not like Joe Saunders is David Price. In all, the Yankees gathered only seven hits and one run in 13 innings. Their triple slash line as a team was .159/.245/.205.
Turning point: The two 13th inning doubles. Machado's double to lead off the 13th was huge, getting a runner in scoring position with no outs, but both teams had several scoring opportunities that came up empty. Thus, Hardy's shot off the left-center wall to plate Machado was even bigger than Machado's double.
It was over when: Eric Chavez lined out to third base. The way this series has gone, one run leads don't amount to much.
Next: It's on to Game 5, meaning all four divisional series went the distance, which is a treat for us fans. In this one, it's a pitching rematch of Game 1, as the Orioles send Jason Hammel (8-6, 3.43 in regular season) to the mound against Yankees ace CC Sabathia (15-6, 3.38 in regular season). It'll be a 5:07 p.m. ET start in Yankee Stadium.
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