Derek Jeter began his final home series in style tonight, driving in a season-high three runs in a 5-0 victory over the Orioles. Oh, and in other news, Michael Pineda, Shawn Kelley, Rich Hill, and David Phelps combined for a one-hitter. Hey, it’s easy to get overshadowed by Jeter right now.
Pineda was completely dominant in the win, striking out eight batters while issuing just one walk over 7 1/3 innings. The lone hit came on a one-out single from J.J. Hardy in the fifth inning. The 25-year-old right-hander now owns a 1.97 ERA in eight starts since coming off the disabled list and a 1.93 ERA in 10 starts overall this season.
Jeter had an RBI groundout in the third inning and later ripped a double into the left field corner in the fifth to score two more runs. By driving in three runs tonight, he passed Hall of Famers Enos Slaughter and Roberto Clemente on the all-time RBI list and is now tied with Paul Molitor for 109th all-time with 1,307 RBI. The 40-year-old has caught fire with only days remaining in his career, batting .417 (10-for-24) with four extra-base hits and six RBI over his last six games.
It wasn’t all bad news for the Orioles tonight. The Tigers lost to the White Sox, so Baltimore has clinched home-field advantage for the ALDS.