The Yankees are all alone again in first place in the American League East. At least for now. After giving up six home runs on Thursday to fall back into a tie for the division lead, the Yankees topped the Orioles 8-5 last night at Camden Yards.
The Yankees hit three home runs in the victory, including Alex Rodriguez’s 300th as a member of the Yankees and the 645th of his career. Wei-Yin Chen tied a career-high by giving up seven runs over 4 2/3 innings. He allowed five runs in the fourth inning, including a three-run homer by Russell Martin and a two-run shot by Steve Pearce.
Phil Hughes yielded three runs (two earned) over six innings for his 14th victory of the season. Things got a little interesting when Adam Jones hit a three-run homer in the sixth, but the Yankees were able to avoid the disaster inning this time around. Robert Andino and Manny Machado later added solo homers, but it wasn’t enough. Oh, and Yankee-killer Mark Reynolds was finally held in check. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
The two teams will meet again tonight when C.C. Sabathia opposes Joe Saunders.
Your Friday box scores:
Rangers 1, Rays 3 (11 innings)
Marlins 9, Nationals 7 (10 innings)
Brewers 5, Cardinals 4 (13 innings)