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Orioles-Yankees Preview

May 31, 2010 - 11:49 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Baltimore (15-36) at New York (30-20), 7:05 p.m. EDT

After a successful home series against one last-place club, the New York Yankees are expecting more of the same against another.

They'll try to defeat the major league-worst Baltimore Orioles for the sixth straight time Tuesday night when they send struggling Javier Vazquez to the mound.

New York (31-20) won three of four from AL Central cellar dweller Cleveland, including an 11-2 rout Monday. Alex Rodriguez hit a grand slam and drove in six runs to make a winner of Andy Pettitte, who allowed one run in seven innings.

The Yankees finished with a season-high 18 hits Monday, and batted .387 and scored 37 runs in the series.

Second baseman Robinson Cano went 10 for 17 with 10 RBIs over the weekend. He's batting .450 with 17 RBIs during a 15-game hitting streak.

Yankee captain Derek Jeter is 17 for 35 during an eight-game hit streak of his own, but left Monday's game in the seventh inning with tightness in his left hamstring after being hit by a pitch there earlier. His status for this series is unclear.

"He got hit in the back of the hamstring and it stiffened up, so we said, 'We'll take you out and get you some ice on it and see how it feels tomorrow,'" manager Joe Girardi told the Yankees' official website.

New York lost its first meeting of 2010 with Baltimore (15-36) before winning the next five. Yankees starters are 5-0 with a 1.30 ERA in the season series.

That could be good news for Vazquez (3-5, 6.86 ERA), who will face Baltimore for the first time in 2010. The right-hander turned in another ugly outing Thursday at Minnesota, allowing five runs over 5 2-3 innings in an 8-2 loss.

"I think even though we got the loss, I battled out there," he said. "My first few games early in the season, probably I wasn't battling as well as I did today."

Vazquez is 6-2 with a 4.80 ERA in 12 career starts against the Orioles, and Baltimore regulars Ty Wigginton (.355), Miguel Tejada (.348) and Cesar Izturis (.389) all have enjoyed success against him in the past.

All of those batters are slumping now for Baltimore, which has lost five straight. Wigginton is hitting .208 since May 17, Tejada is .214 in the same stretch and Izturis is 5 for 23 over his last eight games.

The Orioles have totaled nine runs during their losing streak, which could continue for awhile. This series begins a nine-game stretch against AL East powerhouses New York and Boston.

"(Manager Dave Trembley) is doing the best he can to get us to play better baseball," Tejada told the Orioles' official website. "I know they always blame the manager, but I think we as players, we have to start to pick it up."

Brian Matusz (2-5, 5.76) will make his third start against New York this season after going 0-2 despite a 3.00 ERA in the first two. He had trouble against two unheralded Yankees, with Francisco Cervelli and Marcus Thames each going 4 for 6 in those games.

The Orioles have lost the last seven games started by the left-hander, with Matusz going 0-5 with a 6.50 ERA in that span. He gave up six runs over five-plus innings Wednesday in a 6-1 loss to Oakland.