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Pineda returns as Yanks wrap short set with Orioles

Aug 13, 2014 - 3:04 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees will conclude a rain-shortened series at Camden Yards Wednesday night.

Tuesday's middle test of this originally-scheduled three-game set was postponed due to rain and will be made up on Friday, Sept. 12, as a day-night doubleheader at 1:05 p.m. and 7:05 p.m.

Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda gets the start this evening and last pitched April 23 in a 5-1 loss at Boston. He lasted only 1 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits, and was ejected for a foreign substance on his neck.

With two out and Grady Sizemore batting in the bottom of the second, home plate umpire Gerry Davis was requested by Red Sox manager John Farrell to check Pineda for illegal materials on his body.

Davis touched a brownish substance that appeared to be pine tar on the right side of the pitcher's neck and immediately tossed him from the game.

Pineda also was embroiled in controversy when he faced the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium earlier this month, as television cameras showed the hurler with a brown substance on his right palm. No protests were made by Farrell during that game, in which Pineda held Boston to one run over six innings in a 4-1 Yankees win.

The big hurler also dealt with a strained muscle behind his pitching shoulder suffered while serving his 10-game suspension. Pineda is 2-2 with a 1.83 earned run average in four starts and has no record and a 2.77 ERA in two career starts against Baltimore. He has lost both of his road starts.

The Yankees have dropped three in a row since winning six of seven games and opened their road trip on a sour note Monday night.

Derek Jeter drove in a run, while Brett Gardner, Carlos Beltran and Chase Headley all scored in the 11-3 defeat for New York, which is 2 1/2 games out of a wild card spot and 21-24 in division play.

"I really don't think it makes a difference who you're playing," Jeter said. "We've got to find ways to win games. It's not like you can exhale when you're playing a team that's not in front of us."

The Yankees have scored a total of four runs during their current slide and are 14-10 since the All-Star break. They will also visit Tampa Bay for three games on this road trip.

Baltimore aims for its eighth straight series win Wednesday.

The last time the AL East-leading Orioles lost a series was from July 18-20 against the Oakland Athletics out west. They put themselves in position to keep the streak alive with Monday's rout of the Yankees, as Baltimore erased a 3-1 deficit to roll to its 11th win in the last 15 games.

Chris Davis, Nelson Cruz and Jonathan Schoop all homered and combined for eight RBI, while Adam Jones recorded three hits, including two doubles, and a pair of runs batted in. Schoop is 10-for-26 (.385) with three home runs and 10 RBI against the Yankees this season.

"Those are pretty good numbers," Schoop said. "They're a division opponent, so maybe I'm just more excited."

Nick Markakis went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and the Orioles are now 25-11 since July 1 and 14-5 at Camden Yards since June 30. Baltimore, which is 29-19 against the AL East, sits 6 1/2 games ahead of Toronto and seven games in font of New York in the division.

The Orioles scored 10 or more runs for the third time in the last four games and have posted 10 or more hits in four straight. They are 34-10 when hitting more than one home run and lead the majors with 150 blasts.

Chris Tillman draws the start for the Orioles Wednesday and is 9-5 with a 3.73 ERA in 25 starts. Tillman has won back-to-back starts and gave up two runs across 6 2/3 innings of a 12-2 beating versus St. Louis on Friday. He threw seven shutout innings in a 1-0 win over Seattle on Aug. 3.

Tillman, a right-hander, is 5-5 in 12 career starts against the Yankees and 3-5 in 12 starts at home this season. The Orioles are winless in Tillman's last three trips to the hill.

The Yankees are 3-7 against Baltimore this season and will face them seven more times after this set.