The Orioles insist they can play with anybody, and while that might sound good in theory, every few weeks the New York Yankees come around to provide a litmus test.
In recent years, this has meant disaster for the Orioles. This year, they continue to hold their own against the four-time defending American League champs, including last night's 4-3 victory before 41,583 at Camden Yards.
The Orioles sweated through six innings before deciding to turn up the heat with the score tied in the seventh.
They had runners at the corners and one out against Yankees reliever Ramiro Mendoza, when Orioles manager Mike Hargrove called for the suicide squeeze. Brian Roberts broke from third, and Jerry Hairston dropped a bunt between the mound and first base, scoring Roberts uncontested with the go-ahead run.
The Yankees put the tying run on third base in the ninth, but Jorge Julio retired Jason Giambi for the game's final out, as the Orioles stretched their winning streak to three games.
"I don't know of a play in baseball that makes me more nervous than the suicide squeeze." said Hargrove, who has won with it twice this season.
Brook Fordyce executed the squeeze in the 14th inning to defeat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on April 19.
"That's how we have to play right now to win." Roberts said of the small ball attack. "I think it drives other teams crazy. The Yankees are a team that sits back and waits for the home run. They're obviously more capable of doing that than us."
Added Hairston: "I had to make sure I got [the bunt] down. Brian has good speed and I knew if I got it down he'd score."
Willis Roberts (4-2) earned the win in relief, Yankees starter Andy Pettitte (1-2) took the loss, and Julio recorded his 16th save. Against the Yankees, the Orioles are now 5-5 this season, matching their win total from the past two seasons. They went 5-7 against the Yankees in 2000 and 5-13 last season, when baseball switched to an unbalanced schedule.
With a game-time temperature of 97 degrees, Orioles starting pitcher Sidney Ponson wiped sweat from himself between pitches, and labored through the evening. The Yankees had at least one runner reach base in each of his six innings. Ponson needed 27 pitches to get through the first inning and was at 107 pitches after six, when Hargrove went to his bullpen.
Ponson allowed three earned runs, and by definition it was a quality start - six innings or more, three earned runs or less. He has 10 quality starts in his past 13 games, but June has been an unfruitful month. He is 0-1 with a 2.56 ERA in June, despite making four quality starts. Ponson is 3-4, and his last victory came May 23.
It was also a struggle for Pettitte, as the Orioles had the leadoff batter reach base in five of the first six innings. Pettitte spent two months on the disabled list with tendinitis in his left elbow, and in his third start back, he still was lacking his usual command and velocity.
Once a strikeout artist, Pettitte went four innings without one before getting Hairston swinging in the fifth and Jose Leon swinging in the sixth. The Orioles had 11 hits against Pettitte in his 6M-- innings. He was charged with four runs.
Alfonso Soriano, the Yankees" power-hitting leadoff man, opened the game with a home run. It was his sixth leadoff shot of the season, and he is closing in on Rickey Henderson's all- time single season of nine leadoff home runs, set in 1986.
Soriano, who also had a leadoff home run against the Orioles on April 17, now has 18 homers for the season. He turned on a 1-0 offering from Ponson and sent the fastball screaming 397 feet into the left-field seats.
The Orioles came back with two runs off Pettitte in the bottom of the first, as their first three batters reached base. Melvin Mora drew a four-pitch walk, Hairston singled to right field, and Gary Matthews singled to left, scoring Mora.
With one out, Marty Cordova hit a ball off the right-field scoreboard, scoring Hairston, but Cordova was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double.
Derek Jeter led off the third inning with his 10th home run, knotting the score at 2. Ponson threw four fastballs to Jeter in the at-bat, and the home run pitch was another fastball right down the heart of the plate.
Cordova put the Orioles back out in front with a two-out, run- scoring single in the third inning. Cordova also singled in the sixth inning, and went 3-for-4 for the game.
The Yankees tied it in the fifth, when Jeter singled, Giambi walked and Robin Ventura scored Jeter with a flare to right field.