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Arrieta, Orioles beat Yankees 4-3

Jun 11, 2010 - 3:02 AM By DAVID GINSBURG AP Sports Writer

BALTIMORE(AP) -- In his major league debut, Jake Arrieta didn't draw a sellout crowd, strike out 14 batters or hit 100 mph on the radar gun.

Nah, all he did was beat the defending World Series champion New York Yankees.

Arrieta pitched six innings of four-hit ball, and the Baltimore Orioles ended their 10-game losing streak against the Yankees with a 4-3 victory Thursday night.

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez left the game after the first inning. The premature exit occurred four days after he was pulled from a game against Toronto with groin tightness.

"The last two days it has felt the exact same way and once it got warm it was OK. Today, it cramped up right before batting practice," Rodriguez said.

He knew things were wrong when he couldn't move to his left to get an RBI single by Adam Jones in the first inning.

"Not only do I usually make that play, but it is a routine play," he said. "I just locked up."

A-Rod intends to see the team doctor Friday, but said, "I hope I play."

Manager Joe Girardi said, "Hopefully, it's just a day-to-day thing. We might need to give him a couple days off. We'll know more after he's seen the doctor."

Although Arrieta's arrival didn't get a fraction of the attention that Stephen Strasburg received in Washington on Tuesday, there was still a buzz at Camden Yards - and more fans in attendance (27,064) than in each of the previous two games of the series.

Drafted in the fifth round of the 2007 amateur draft, the 24-year-old Arrieta provided a glimmer of hope for a struggling franchise that owns the worst record in the majors (17-43). The right-hander wasn't particularly overpowering, but he mixed his 106 pitches well enough to keep the best-hitting team in the majors in check.

"It's real satisfying to go out there and throw well enough in my debut to get a win against these guys," Arrieta said. "It feels good. I really just wanted to go out there and make pitches and not let the adrenaline get the best of me."

Arrieta gave up three runs and outpitched veteran A.J. Burnett (6-4), who came in 11-2 lifetime against the Orioles and 5-0 in Baltimore.

Arrieta never got to face A-Rod, but he launched his first major league start against Derek Jeter - an assignment he did not take lightly.

"I was talking to my wife and a couple of my friends and I was telling them it was going to be pretty exciting (that) the first hitter I face is Jeter," Arrieta said. "That's pretty special to me. I know that's something I will remember for a long time. To be able to tell my friends and family and my kids."

Jeter grounded out, although he later doubled and walked against the rookie.

Arrieta (1-0) struck out six, walked four (two intentionally) and limited New York to 1-for-5 batting with runners in scoring position.

He started and finished his outing with two impressive innings. Arrieta worked a perfect first, and after a double and two intentional walks loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth, he struck out Marcus Thames.

"I know there's going to be a lot of times like that throughout my career where I'm going to have to make those type of pitches, and to be able to do it tonight in my debut was very important to me," Arrieta said.

David Hernandez, the last of three relievers, worked the ninth for his first big league save and Baltimore's first since May 21.

Scott Moore homered and Jones had two RBIs for the Orioles, who improved to 2-10 against the Yankees this season.

Baltimore snapped a 3-3 tie in the sixth when Luke Scott tripled and scored on a double by Jones.

Burnett gave up four runs and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings. He was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA against Baltimore this season.

After Arrieta sandwiched two groundouts around a foul popup in the top of the first, Burnett appeared to be the one making his big league debut in the bottom half. He hit two batters, gave up two hits and yielded two runs.

New York closed to 2-1 in the second when Robinson Cano hit a one-out double and scored on a triple by Curtis Granderson.

A walk to No. 9 hitter Chad Moeller, an RBI double by Jeter and a sacrifice fly by Nick Swisher put the Yankees ahead in the third.

Burnett retired 10 straight batters before Moore led off the fifth with his first homer since April 2008.

NOTES: Baltimore improved to 2-4 under interim manager Juan Samuel. ... Jeter has reached via a hit, walk or HBP in 28 straight games, tied with Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria for longest such streak in the majors this year. Longoria's streak is also active. ... Cano went 1 for 3, ending his run of three straight 3-hit games. ... New York is 32-3 when allowing four runs or less.