• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Pavano makes triumphant return as Yanks top Orioles

Aug 24, 2008 - 4:16 AM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- It took nearly four years, but Carl Pavano finally reached 20 wins as a member of the New York Yankees.

Pavano made his first start since April 9, 2007 and notched a win with five serviceable innings as the Yankees downed the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3, on Saturday.

Pavano (1-0), whose lengthy injury history includes the last 16 months missed after undergoing "Tommy John" surgery, allowed three runs and seven hits while walking one and striking out five. The veteran righthander has recorded a total of 20 wins since signing a four-year, $39.95 million contract with the Yankees prior to the 2005 campaign.

"It's amazing," Pavano said. "It's what I get paid to do. It's all I know."

The 32-year-old missed the entire 2006 campaign with a variety of ailments, including two broken ribs suffered in an automobile accident.

"This is a big win for the team," Pavano said. "From an individual standpoint, there's obviously some things I need to work on."

But with New York missing ace Chien-Ming Wang, who has been out since mid-June with a torn tendon in his right foot, and second-year phenom Joba Chamberlain, who is sidelined with tendinitis in his rotator cuff, the door opened for Pavano's return.

"I thought he threw the ball really well tonight, and obviously, he got the win for us," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He got up to around 90 pitches and he did everything we asked him to do. I was happy how aggressive he was. He went right after the hitters tonight. He also adjusted to the way the hitters approached him, and I liked that."

New York jumped to a lead on an RBI double by Alex Rodriguez and a run-scoring single by Jason Giambi in the first off Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie.

"When you get runs with two outs, it's huge," Girardi said.

Pavano worked around three singles in the first by inducing a double-play groundout and a fielder's choice. But he surrendered the lead as Baltimore battled back for three runs on three hits and a sacrifice fly in the second.

"The first two innings, I was a couple of pitches from really giving it away," Pavano said.

He settled down over his final three frames, allowing one hit while notching four strikeouts.

The Yankees quickly re-assumed the advantage in the third, when Giambi launched a two-run blast - his 25th - into the center field seats.

"From my vantage point, the home run to Giambi was too much in the middle of the plate," said Orioles manager Dave Trembley, who was ejected for arguing a call in the third inning and watched the remainder of the game from the clubhouse.

Hideki Matsui, who was playing in his fifth game after spending nearly two months on the disabled list with an injured knee, added a solo homer in the fifth - giving him 500 RBI in his major league career.

"I'm getting more and more used to being at the plate, seeing pitches," Matsui said through an interpreter. "Physically, I feel pretty good, and that includes my knees."

Brian Bruney and Jose Veras combined for three scoreless innings before Mariano Rivera came on in the ninth to post his 30th save.

"I'm a friend of his and I was happy to see him come back," Bruney said of Pavano. "I'm happy to help him get the win."

The Orioles have lost four of their last five home games.

"We had (runners on) first and second three different times and nobody out and didn't score for a variety of reasons," Trembley said. "We had some chances and it didn't happen. And that's the game."