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Surging Yankees go for fifth straight win

Aug 14, 2007 - 1:43 PM Baltimore (54-63) at NY Yankees (67-51) 7:05 pm EDT

BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees are peaking at the perfect time.

Rodriguez hopes to continue his hot hitting and the Yankees aim for their fifth consecutive win when they host the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

Rodriguez, who went 1-for-4 in Monday's series opener, is 13-for-37 (.351) with three home runs and 11 RBI over his previous 10 games. The two-time AL MVP is batting .300 with a major league-leading 39 homers and 114 RBI this season.

New York has won 12 of its last 14 contests to climb into a virtual tie with the Seattle Mariners atop of the American League wild card standings. The Yankees also have closed the AL East gap to within four games of the Boston Red Sox.

Despite receiving a sub-par outing from ace Chien-Ming Wang and a blown save from Mariano Rivera, the Yankees rallied for a 7-6 triumph in Monday's series opener.

Derek Jeter tapped an infield single with one out in the ninth inning to plate Melky Cabrera with the game-winning run.

Wang allowed five runs in six-plus innings while Rivera yielded a run in the top of the ninth to blow his first save opportunity since April 20.

The Yankees hope for a better pitching outing from Tuesday's starter, Jeff Karstens (0-2, 10.13 ERA), who has not started since suffering a broken leg after being hit by a comebacker against Boston on April 28.

Karstens, 24, underwent nearly three months of rehab and has struggled in his two relief outings since returning to the Yankees, allowing eight runs - five earned - in 6 1/3 innings.

Baltimore counters with Daniel Cabrera (8-12, 5.14), who yielded eight runs - seven earned - and eight hits with four strikeouts over 5 1/3 frames in a 13-8 loss to the Mariners on Thursday.

The Orioles have lost five of their last seven contests.