Masahiro Tanaka Shines in First Start, but Yankees Lose to Orioles 4-5

Nick Markakis had an RBI single in the ninth inning against fill-in closer Shawn Kelley, and the Baltimore Orioles rallied for a 5-4 victory Wednesday night over the Yankees after wasting a three-run lead against Masahiro Tanaka.

Jonathan Schoop hit a three-run homer off Tanaka in the second inning of his first start at Yankee Stadium but Carlos Beltran and Kelly Johnson connected against Miguel Gonzalez in the bottom of the inning. Alfonso Soriano tied it with a groundout in the fourth.

The Orioles, who managed only seven hits while striking out 10 times against Tananka in seven innings, lined four straight singles to center field off Kelley, pitching the ninth for the second time in place of the injured David Robertson.

Ryan Flaherty and Schoop each got hits on an 0-2 pitch from Kelley (0-1) and Markakis singled in Flaherty and after Delmon Young got his third hit of the night, Chris Davis made it 5-3 with a sacrifice fly.

Tommy Hunter gave up two hits to start the ninth and sacrifice fly to former Oriole Brian Roberts before getting Yangervis Solarte to ground into a double play for his third save, finishing off the Orioles' second straight win over New York. Brian Matusz got two outs (1-0) for the win.

There were many empty seats on a brisk night in the Bronx despite it being New York's first chance to see the prized Tananka, who signed a seven-year, $155 million contract with the Yankees this winter — plus a $20 million rights fee paid to his team in Japan, Ratuken.

Tanaka warmed up to the bubbly "My Dear Fellow," a song written for the 25-year-old pitcher by the Japanese group Momoiro Clover Z. He then received a rude welcome from Markakis. The Orioles leadoff batter grounded the first pitch of the game right back at Tanaka, hitting the right-hander on the foot before it deflected to shortstop Derek Jeter, who made the throw to first base for the out.

In similar fashion to his first big league start at Toronto, Tanaka was tagged early before settling in.

He gave up three runs — two earned — in the first two innings Friday of a seven-inning outing in which he struck out eight. This time, Schoop hit a soaring three-run homer high above the left field pole in the second inning.

But Tanaka gave up just three more singles and a walk.

Gonzalez was equal to the task, allowing seven hits and three runs. He walked one and struck out three.

Adam Jones came up to a smattering of boos before his first at-bat a day after he said, "They should let us have a shot to kick 'em with our metal spikes," about two fans who ran on the field duing Tuesday's game. The fans' shenanigans got a huge cheer from the crowd.

Jones struck out his first two times up to hardy cheers. Jones wasn't alone. Tanaka had the Orioles flailing at his nasty split-fingered fastball all night, many bouncing in the dirt.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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