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Sep 18, 2010 - 4:24 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

New York (88-58) at Baltimore (58-88), 7:05 p.m. EDT

A career-high 20th win would further CC Sabathia's case for his second AL Cy Young Award. More importantly, it could give the New York Yankees some breathing room atop the AL East.

Sabathia takes a third shot at reaching the elusive milestone when he faces the Baltimore Orioles again Saturday night.

Sabathia (19-6, 3.03 ERA), a three-time 19-game winner, leads the league in wins while ranking among the leaders in ERA, strikeouts (179) and innings (217). Those numbers could give him a Cy Young to add to the one he earned with Cleveland in 2007.

The left-hander failed to win in his last two starts after a six-start winning streak. He was outstanding in a duel with Tampa Bay's David Price - another Cy Young favorite - on Monday, yielding two hits with nine strikeouts in eight innings of a 1-0, 11-inning loss.

Sabathia wasn't nearly that sharp six days earlier, giving up a season high-tying six runs in 6 1-3 innings of a 6-2 loss to Baltimore (58-89). That ended his eight-game win streak versus the Orioles.

He is 13-2 with a 2.81 ERA in 19 career starts against them, winning his last four outings at Camden Yards with a 1.76 ERA.

The Yankees (89-58) moved back atop the AL East on Friday as Alex Rodriguez hit a three-run shot in the ninth inning - his second homer of the game - to rally the Yankees past the Orioles 4-3. That moved New York a half-game ahead of Tampa Bay.

The victory was the Yankees' third in 10 games, a stretch in which they have played eight one-run contests with five ending in defeats.

"We've run into a wall here. We've played a lot of one-run games and been on the wrong side of things," Rodriguez said. "For us, (Friday) is a big game. Every game down the stretch is going to be important."

New York has taken 12 of 16 from the Orioles, who are 9-3 in their last 12 and will send a hot pitcher to the mound.

Jeremy Guthrie (10-13, 3.74) has gone 7-3 with a 2.29 ERA in his last 11 starts. The right-hander has been outstanding in winning his last three outings with a 0.81 ERA, and matching a career-best four-start win streak would give him a career high in victories.

Guthrie threw seven scoreless innings in a 5-3 win at Detroit last Saturday.

"I've said it so many times, but guys in that 28-30-year-old range often start figuring things out," manager Buck Showalter told the team's official website. "He's been solid - and that's an understatement."

Guthrie, however, has lost six starts in a row to the Yankees, posting a 6.19 ERA.