NEW YORK - For seven innings, Orioles pitcher Sidney Ponson looked like a world beater last night. Or, at least, someone capable of beating Roger Clemens on one of his better nights.
But with an exhausted bullpen, the Orioles chose to push Ponson into the eighth inning with a high pitch count, and that's when he faltered.
So it turned into a dramatic test for that tired bullpen, and after the New York Yankees came back to tie the game in the eighth, Mike Bordick put the Orioles back in the lead in the ninth with a run-scoring double down the left-field line.
Jorge Julio blew the save but recorded the final five outs to get the win, as the Orioles pulled out a dramatic, 4-3 victory at Yankee Stadium.
Through seven innings, Ponson held the Yankees to one run on two hits. "That's as good as I've seen him throw in a pressure situation." manager Mike Hargrove said.
Ponson took a 3-1 lead into the eighth but had already thrown 113 pitches. His season high this season was 121, which he would surpass by two.
Things fell apart quickly, as Nick Johnson lined a single to left field, and Alfonso Soriano followed with a double into the left-field corner. Johnson scored all the way from first, as the ball bounced away from Orioles left fielder Melvin Mora.
Ponson, looking rattled, walked Derek Jeter on four pitches, and Hargrove turned to the bullpen.
"I'm just happy we won." Ponson said. "If it wasn't for our defense, offense and bullpen, we probably would have lost today."
Before the game, Hargrove said the team was going to have to "bite the bullet' and try not to use setup men Rick Bauer and Buddy Groom. Those pitchers have been paramount to the team's success this year, but both showed decreased velocity, presumably from overuse, in Sunday's 11-8 loss to the Seattle Mariners.
In that game, the Orioles' bullpen turned a 7-1 lead into an 11-7 deficit in a span of three innings.
So in a spot Hargrove would have normally used Bauer, he turned to Willis Roberts, who has posted a 1.91 ERA this season, mostly in situations that were a lot less stressful than this.
Roberts walked Bernie Williams on four pitches, loading the bases, so Hargrove brought in left-hander B.J. Ryan to face Jason Giambi. Ryan then did his best impression of Groom, striking out Giambi.
Hargrove went back to the mound, congratulated Ryan, and turned the game over to struggling Orioles closer Jorge Julio. One pitch later, the Yankees tied the game, as Jorge Posada hit a screaming sacrifice fly, scoring Soriano from third.
Enrique Wilson flied out to right field, ending the inning, and the Yankees turned to closer Mariano Rivera.
The Orioles looked like they were in big trouble, but Gary Matthews lined a single to left field with one out and stole second base after Rivera (1-2) struck out Geronimo Gil for the second out.
Bordick then silenced the crowd by pulling a high fastball down the left-field line. On television replays, his ball appeared to land very close to the line, and third base umpire Alfonso Marquez called it a fair ball.
Matthews scored easily from second base.
"I knew it was going to be close and [third base coach Tom Trebelhorn] told me it hit on the left side of the chalk line." Bordick said. "So it's good to have a little luck on your side, too."
Julio (3-4) gave up a leadoff single to Rondell White in the ninth inning, but retired the next three batters to end the game.
On a night when Clemens matched his season high with 13 strikeouts and allowed just two runs in seven innings, the Orioles still came away with the victory. They are now 3-0 in games Clemens has started this season.
Ponson's final line read: seven-plus innings, four hits, three earned runs, five walks, five strikeouts.
Working quickly, and relying heavily on his slider, Ponson breezed through the first three innings, retiring nine of the 10 batters he faced, and throwing just 38 pitches. The Yankees stretched him out a bit in the fourth inning, when Giambi (five pitches) and Posada (nine pitches) drew two-out walks.
Ventura popped out to end the inning, but Ponson threw 27 pitches in that inning alone.
Ponson re-established his rhythm in the fifth inning, quickly getting two outs, but with a 2-2 count to Johnson, he fired a pitch that sailed over catcher Gil's head. It was a sign trouble was coming. Ponson's left his next pitch up in the strike zone, and Johnson launched it 10 rows into the right-field upper deck, knotting the score 1-1.
After retiring Soriano to end the fifth inning, Ponson made it through the sixth and seventh innings unscathed. He walked Ventura to start the seventh inning, and then held his breath as White hit a ball to deep right field.
Right fielder Matthews chased down that ball at the warning track, and Ponson pumped his fist, pointing at Matthews.
"We showed a lot of character as a team." Bordick said. "Yesterday's loss was a tough loss. Sidney really stepped it up, and our bullpen came in and did the job."