Alex Rodriguez Homers New York Yankees into First Place

The Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 in Camden Yards last night behind a pair of homers by Alex Rodriguez—including a three-run homer in the top of the ninth with two strikes and two outs to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead—and a decent pitching performance from starter A.J. Burnett.

Here are some highlights:

• A-Rod got the scoring started in the second with a solo shot and the Yankees didn’t score again until his ninth inning three-run homer.
• Burnett was good, but not great. He tossed seven innings and allowed three runs and two homers. He walked just one and struck out five.
• Aside from the home runs, the Orioles were largely shutdown though.
• David Robertson and Mariano Rivera each pitched perfect innings.
• The Yankees offense picked up 10 hits, but still managed to leave 11 batters on base.
• In addition to A-Rod, Robinson Cano and Lance Berkman also had multi-hit nights.
• The Rays lost 4-3 to the Angels, dropping them to second place.

This was a big win, but the Yankees really needed it to start them on a roll. The Orioles have been hot lately, but they are still going to nearly lose 100 games. The Yankees need to treat the O's as such and at least take two of three, but preferably sweep the series.

Related Stories

• September 6, 2010—Showalter’s Revenge
• August 30, 2010—Yankees Notes: A-Rod, Burnett, Berkman, and Matchups
• August 21, 2010—Yankees Notes: A-Rod Injured, McAllister Traded, Nova to be Called Up
• August 9, 2010—Extended Yankees Notes: A-Rod, Burnett, Posada, Pettitte, and More