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Cano helps Yankees sweep Orioles

Aug 24, 2008 - 11:47 PM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- The New York Yankees appeared primed to let one slip away. But Robinson Cano ended his slump just in time.

Cano had four hits, including a go-ahead solo home run, to lead the Yankees to an 8-7 triumph over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.

It was the sixth victory in the last eight contests for New York (70-60), which swept this three-game series with Baltimore and remained five games behind rival Boston (75-55) for the American League wild card.

The Yankees host the Red Sox in a three-game series that begins Tuesday.

"Guys are excited, probably a little bit fatigued, too," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We can look forward to what's in front of us."

"It's always good to sweep a series and have a winning road trip," Yankees catcher Ivan Rodriguez added. "It's nice to come home, and now we just need to keep doing what we are doing."

The Yankees appeared primed to run away with this one, racing to a 7-2 lead through the first 3 1/2 innings. But the Orioles erased the deficit with three runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth.

That set the stage for Cano, who entered the contest with just three hits in his last 20 at-bats. The lefthanded-hitting second baseman gave New York an 8-7 lead in the seventh with his 12th homer of the season, a long solo shot to center field off southpaw Jamie Walker (1-2).

"I was looking for something in the middle (of the plate)," Cano said. "It was a fastball."

Cano also had an RBI double in the second, another two-base hit in the third and a hard single in the ninth, improving his average to .328 since the All-Star break.

"My job is important," said Cano, who batted eighth in the lineup. "I need to get on base for (Johnny) Damon, (Derek) Jeter and those guys."

Damon belted a three-run homer and Bobby Abreu had three hits for the Yankees, who recorded their first series sweep in Baltimore since 2004.

"Just winning three games here by a total of four runs is big," Damon said. "It was really nice to get three wins. It puts us in a good situation."

New York starter Darrell Rasner lasted just 3 1/3 innings, allowing five runs - three earned - and eight hits. Righthander Edwar Ramirez (4-1) worked 1 1/3 innings to pick up the win and Mariano Rivera recorded the final four outs for his 31st save.

"The bullpen picked up a lot of slack for me today," Rasner said. "They did a great job."

Rasner yielded back-to-back homers to Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff in the first inning, but Cano's double and Damon's homer gave New York a 4-2 lead in the second.

The Yankees pushed their lead to 7-2 in the fifth on Jason Giambi's sacrifice fly and Xavier Nady's two-run double. But the Orioles forged a 7-7 tie in the sixth on Brian Roberts' two-run homer off Ramirez.

Baltimore starter Daniel Cabrera, who entered with a 3-0 record vs. New York this season, surrendered seven runs, nine hits and three walks with no strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.

"Our offense kept coming back," Rasner said. "I left them on the field a long time today, and they easily could have given up and shut it down, but they didn't. They kept coming out and kept scoring and made it tough on them."