Baltimore @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 8, 2014 ) Baltimore 14, NY Yankees 5

Masahiro Tanaka is set to make his Yankee Stadium debut when the New York Yankees host the Baltimore Orioles in the rubber match of a three-game series on Wednesday. The Japanese right-hander was the subject of a huge bidding war won by the Yankees for a mere $155 million, and his home debut will be heavily scrutinized by media from both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Tanaka will need to slow an Orioles lineup that pounded out 20 hits on Tuesday.

Baltimore was having some trouble getting its offense in gear through the first week of the season but finally started stringing hits together on Tuesday, when every starter had at least one hit and Adam Jones, Matt Wieters and Delmon Young each homered in a 14-5 rout. Vidal Nuno took one for the team for New York and pitched 3 1/3 innings of relief to save the rest of the bullpen for the final game of the series. The lopsided score did not stop the hot streak of Yankees rookie Yangervis Solarte, who doubled twice to record his fourth multi-hit game.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MASN (Baltimore), YES (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Miguel Gonzalez (0-1, 18.90 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 2.57)

Gonzalez followed up a slow spring training with a terrible turn his first time out, allowing seven runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings to the Detroit Tigers. The 29-year-old Mexico native surrendered a pair of home runs and notched only one strikeout in that outing. Gonzalez is 2-2 with a 4.01 ERA in seven career starts against New York and has yielded two home runs each to Ichiro Suzuki and Alfonso Soriano.

Tanaka famously did not lose a game in Japan last year and kept his undefeated streak alive by holding the Toronto Blue Jays to three runs - two earned - on six hits over seven innings last week. The 25-year-old struck out eight and did not walk a batter thanks to a splitter that found its bite after Melky Cabrera belted one for a leadoff home run. Tanaka threw 65 of his 97 pitches for strikes in that outing.

WALK-OFFS

1. Orioles SS J.J. Hardy (back spasms) missed the first two games of the series but was available on Tuesday.

2. New York CF Jacoby Ellsbury is 12-for-22 in the last five games.

3. Baltimore C Matt Wieters clubbed a two-run homer on Tuesday and has hit safely in each of his first seven games.

PREDICTION: Yankees 6, Orioles 3