By Dan Connolly, The Baltimore Sun –
BALTIMORE — Although they wouldn’t admit it, in the past the Orioles probably would have been quietly satisfied by splitting an 18-game season series with the New York Yankees.
Not this year, not when so much is at stake, including potential home-field advantage possibilities in the playoffs.
So the 13-3 beatdown administered by the Yankees on Sunday carried with it no solace that the Orioles finished the season 9-9 against the division’s behemoth, only the second time they’ve not had a losing record against the Bronx Bombers in 15 seasons.
The Orioles (78-62) had a chance to take a one-game lead over New York (79-61) in the East on Sunday, before another strong announced crowd of 40,346. They also had a chance to guarantee that, at season’s end, if they were tied for the division or for the Wild Card with the Yankees, a one-game playoff would occur at Camden Yards.
With the season series split, however, potential home-field advantage for any one-game playoff between the two clubs will be determined by which one has a better divisional record – the Orioles have a three-game lead in that category, but still have 16 AL East games remaining.
On Sunday, the Yankees reminded the Orioles that they are still the team to beat, despite an un-Yankee-like dominance for much of this season.
And the Orioles learned what life post-Nick Markakis – who was lost for the season with a broken left thumb Saturday – would be like.
The Orioles managed just four hits against a scuffling Freddy Garcia and four Yankee relievers. They scored in just one inning, the third, when Wilson Betemit had a two-run double and Matt Wieters added an RBI single against Garcia.
Both starting pitchers didn’t get out of the fourth. The difference was that the Yankees had already scored five times before chasing Zach Britton. And the Yankees didn’t stop there, bashing O’s relievers for eight more runs.
All told, the Yankees had 23 baserunners, including 14 hits and eight walks, Sunday and were 7 of 15 with runners in scoring position.
Most of Britton’s problems were self-inflicted.
The Orioles lefty gave up a two-out RBI single to Robinson Cano in the first and then retired the next seven before a disastrous fourth inning in which he allowed three hits and four walks. Twice he walked a batter with the bases loaded to force in a run.
Overall, Britton (5-2) gave up five runs on five hits and five walks in just 3 1/3 innings pitched. He had walked just four batters in his past three starts and had given up three earned runs in his past four starts.
Against the Yankees, however, Britton continues to struggle. In six starts versus New York, Britton is 1-3 with a 7.82 ERA.
On Sunday, he just couldn’t command his sinker consistently, throwing only 40 of his 81 pitches for strikes. The line could have been worse, but Jake Arrieta entered with a bases loaded jam in the fourth and struck out Nick Swisher and Alex Rodriguez.
Arrieta, making his first big league relief appearance after 58 career starts, allowed three runs in three innings. He served up Curtis Granderson’s 35th homer of the season, a solo shot in the sixth; Granderson added a two-run single against Zach Phillips in the seventh, with both runs being charged to Arrieta.
The Orioles had a chance in the middle innings, though, because Garcia also fell apart in the fourth after being staked to a 5-0 lead.
He retired eight of his first nine batters, but walked one and hit another before the double by Betemit, who hadn’t started a game since Aug. 11.
The Yankees bullpen, led by Joba Chamberlain, then shut down the Orioles’ offense after the fourth. Chamberlain (1-0) allowed no hits in 12/3 innings and struck out four.
It was the Orioles’ most lopsided loss since dropping a 19-7 game to the Minnesota Twins on July 16. It was the most runs the Orioles had allowed since losing 14-9 to the Oakland A’s on July 27.
They are now one game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Wild Card race. The Rays head to Camden Yards on Tuesday for a three-game series.
