CC Sabathia dominated the Orioles over the first seven innings tonight, but the Orioles had their chance in the top of the eighth. They failed to deliver the knockout punch.
Matt Wieters led off the eighth with a single and Manny Machado drew a walk before Mark Reynolds struck out swinging for the first out of the inning. Lew Ford, yes that Lew Ford, then drove Wieters home with a single into left field past a diving Derek Jeter.
Things got really interesting after Robert Andino hit a tapper back to Sabathia. Eric Chavez wasn’t covering third base, so Sabathia decided to make a throw to second base. However, Lew Ford beat the throw, which set up a bases-loaded situation. Sabathia managed to escape the jam by striking out Nate McLouth and getting J.J. Hardy to ground out to shortstop.
The Yankees are currently up in the bottom of the eighth and hold a 3-1 lead.