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Yankees-Orioles Preview

Aug 30, 2009 - 11:41 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

New York (81-48) at Baltimore (53-77), 7:05 p.m. EDT

Fresh off a three-game sweep in which they looked dominant at home, the New York Yankees go on the road Monday night when they try to continue their mastery of the Baltimore Orioles.

New York (82-48) has won seven straight over Baltimore, the last six coming at home, and has taken 16 of the last 19 meetings between the division rivals. The Yankees are 3-3 at Camden Yards this year.

They start this three-game set with a six-game lead over Boston in the AL East after playing outstanding baseball over the weekend in a sweep of the White Sox. New York outscored Chicago 23-5 in the series after an 8-3 victory Sunday.

The Yankees homered six times in the series, with Johnny Damon connecting twice. Damon and Mark Teixeira each went deep Sunday and combined for six RBIs.

Teixeira has team highs of 32 homers and 101 RBIs to emerge as an AL MVP candidate. The slugger, who grew up in the Baltimore suburb of Severna Park, chose to sign an eight-year, $180 million deal with the Yankees in December after he spurned a lower offer from the Orioles (54-77).

The first baseman is 11 for 45 (.244) against the Orioles this year, and has been booed repeatedly while going 5 for 24 (.208) in six games at Camden Yards.

Second baseman Robinson Cano has done plenty of damage in 2009 against the Orioles, batting .455 (20 for 44) with five homers and 13 RBIs. Cano is hitting .358 with five homers and 14 RBIs over his last 25 games.

The Yankees will give the ball to Andy Pettitte (11-6, 4.18 ERA), who has beaten the Orioles more than any other opponent, going 25-6 with a 3.65 ERA against them. New York has won his last six starts versus Baltimore, with the veteran left-hander going 5-0 with a 3.26 ERA in that span.

Pettitte won his second straight start Wednesday by allowing two runs over seven innings in a 9-2 victory over Texas. He is 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA in his last five starts, with the Yankees winning all of them.

Baltimore gained a split of a four-game set with Cleveland with a 5-2 victory Sunday as Felix Pie hit a two-run homer. Pie is 18 for 47 (.383) with five homers and 12 RBIs over his last 16 games.

"This is an opportunity for him coming down the last 35 games or so to show what he's got, and so far he's doing a real nice job," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "He's taking advantage of his opportunity."

The Orioles' Jeremy Guthrie (9-12, 5.26) will try to win three straight starts for the first time since he won four in a row July 28-Aug. 13, 2008. The right-hander gave up one run over seven innings Wednesday in a 5-1 victory at Minnesota.

"The ERA isn't where I wanted it to be, but the opportunity is still there to have a nice win total," Guthrie said. "Just keep plugging along, and there's still opportunities to win games."

Guthrie is 1-2 with a 5.21 ERA in three outings against the Yankees this year, and 3-4 with a 4.82 ERA in nine career starts. Cano (.160), Hideki Matsui (.217) and Alex Rodriguez (.211) have all fared poorly in their careers versus Guthrie.