New York @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Oct 7, 2012 ) NY Yankees 7, Baltimore 2
The New York Yankees look to take a commanding lead in their American League Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles when the division rivals square off in Game 2 at Camden Yards on Monday. The AL East champion Yankees drew first blood Sunday night, rallying for five runs in the ninth inning against Orioles closer Jim Johnson en route to a 7-2 triumph in a series opener whose start was delayed nearly 2 1/2 hours by rain.
Russell Martin snapped a 2-2 tie by leading off the ninth with a home run off Johnson, who led the major leagues with 51 saves in the regular season. New York, which registered five of its 10 hits against Johnson, improved to 7-3 at Camden Yards this year. Baltimore held a 2-1 lead before surrendering six unanswered runs. It kept the red-hot Robinson Cano in check until the ninth as he went 0-for-4 before hitting a two-run double. Cano finished the regular season on a 24-for-39 tear.
TV: 8:07 p.m. ET, TBS
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees LH Andy Pettitte (5-4, 2.87 ERA) vs. Orioles LH Wei-Yin Chen (12-11, 4.02)
The all-time leader with 19 postseason victories, Pettitte was better than expected as he returned from his one-year retirement. The 40-year-old, who made only 12 starts, tossed 11 scoreless innings over his first two starts following a broken fibula before allowing three runs in 5 2/3 frames of a loss at Toronto on Sept. 29. Pettitte has dominated the Orioles over his career, going 27-6 with a 3.52 ERA in 42 games - including two relief appearances.
Chen began his first major-league season strong, winning his first four decisions while allowing two earned runs or less in six of his first seven starts. The 27-year-old native of Taiwan went 0-4 over his final seven outings but yielded more than three earned runs only twice during that stretch. Chen was 1-2 with a 5.25 ERA in four starts against the Yankees, surrendering a total of 11 runs in 11 1/3 frames in losing consecutive outings on Sept. 1 and Sept. 7.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pettitte recorded the win against Baltimore at Camden Yards in the clinching Game 5 of the 1996 AL Championship Series.
2. New York (245) and Baltimore (214) were the top two teams in the major leagues in home runs during the regular season but combined for one blast in the series opener.
3. Yankees LF Ichiro Suzuki enters Game 2 with a 20-game hitting streak at Camden Yards.