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Wang looks to match Santana for AL lead in wins

Sep 27, 2006 - 3:16 PM Baltimore (68-89) at NY Yankees (95-62) 7:05 pm EDT

BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Tied for the best record in baseball, the New York Yankees give the ball to a pitcher looking to tie for the major league lead in wins.

Chien-Ming Wang tries to become the Yankees' first righthander with 19 wins in five years when he faces the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old Wang (18-6, 3.57 ERA) allowed one run in seven innings of a 4-1 win at Tampa Bay on Friday, improving to 9-2 with a 2.93 ERA since the All-Star break. With a win in the second of three games against the Orioles, Wang would become New York's first righthanded pitcher with 19 wins in a season since Roger Clemens went 20-3 in 2001.

In his last meeting with the Orioles on September 9, Wang allowed one run and eight hits in 7 1/3 innings of a 3-2 win at Camden Yards. It was his first victory in five lifetime appearances - four starts - against Baltimore.

Bobby Abreu hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning to lead the Yankees to a 5-4 victory in Tuesday's opener of this three-game series. With that triumph, New York kept pace with Detroit in the chase for homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Yankees are gunning for a fifth straight victory against the Orioles, who turn to Kris Benson (11-11, 4.49). In four lifetime starts against New York, Benson has gone 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA.

Benson has posted a mark of 1-1 with a 2.61 ERA in his last four starts overall, pitching eight innings in each of the last three. The righthander is looking to match a career high with a 12th win this season.