• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Orioles hammer Yankees

Aug 27, 2011 - 5:30 AM Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - Matt Wieters hit a three-run homer, J.J. Hardy smacked a two-run shot and Mark Reynolds had a solo blast in the Orioles' 12-5 win Friday against the Yankees.

Nolan Reimold doubled, tripled and drove in three for the Orioles, who won their fifth consecutive game after plating nine runs against New York starter A.J. Burnett.

"The last five or six games have been pretty good," Hardy said. "Our pitchers have been going out there and working fast and doing really well, and letting us score a few runs and keep the momentum on our side."

Tommy Hunter (3-2) allowed four runs in seven innings to help Baltimore win on a night the team honored the late Mike Flanagan.

Flanagan, who died Wednesday of a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head, won the 1979 Cy Young as a pitcher for the Orioles and helped the team capture the World Series in 1983. He then served as a coach, front office executive and broadcaster for the team.

The Orioles held a moment of silence prior to the game, lowered a team flag at Camden Yards to half-staff and installed a banner with Flanagan's number 46 just above the press box. Players also started wearing a black patch with the name "Flanny" written in white on their uniforms.

Burnett (9-11) matched a career high with nine runs allowed in five innings, finishing an arduous August. In five starts, he posted an 11.91 ERA (30 earned runs in 22 2/3 innings), and allowed six homers and 44 hits.

The right-hander has given up at least seven runs in four outings this season -- three of which came in August.

"It's really just location at this point," said Yankees catcher Russell Martin. "He'll make a couple good pitches with his fastball, and the next one will be belt-high. Guys at this level, they don't miss it."

Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher homered for the Yankees, who were coming off Thursday's 22-9, three-grand slam rout of Oakland. They claimed the record-setting win after falling behind early, and found themselves in a similar position Friday thanks to the Orioles' six-run second inning.

Reynolds started the scoring with a one-out solo blast to left. He took five consecutive pitches before crushing a fastball, which Burnett left up, over the left field wall.

Ryan Adams then doubled to right-center field, starting a string of four consecutive doubles that produced three runs. Hardy followed the stretch by belting a hanging breaking ball deep into the left-center field seats, giving the Orioles a 6-0 lead.

Burnett ran into more trouble in the fourth because of wildness. A wild pitch allowed Matt Angle to reach on a strikeout, and four consecutive balls on an 0-2 count put Robert Andino on base. Another wild pitch allowed Angle to advance to third, and he scored on Hardy's grounder.

After Posada's solo shot in the next inning put New York on the board, Baltimore tacked on a few more runs.

A Wieters double and Adams walk put two on for Reimold, who lined a triple to right in the fifth. Wieters' homer off Luis Ayala in the sixth pushed Baltimore's lead to 12-1, and New York never recovered -- despite getting a solo shot from Rodriguez and a two-run homer from Swisher in the next inning.

While Hunter gave up a season-high three homers, he allowed only two other hits and didn't walk a batter.

Because of that, the Yankees didn't have the kind of big-play opportunities they did the day before, and ended 0-for-1 with runners in scoring position. Mark Teixeira hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

However, New York remained a game behind Boston for the AL East lead after the Red Sox fell to the A's on Friday.

Game Notes

The Orioles' current winning streak matches a season high. They also won five in a row from May 21-26...Saturday's scheduled doubleheader between the Orioles and Yankees has been postponed because of bad weather expected to occur as Hurricane Irene makes its way up the East Coast. The afternoon game will be played September 8 at a time to be determined, while the night contest has been bumped back to Sunday, creating another doubleheader.