Orioles Get Shellacked by Yanks

Commentary:

What began as a dominant performance by CC Sabathia ended as a Bronx beat down of the Bird.  Lead by Russel Martin's 2 home runs and 6 RBIs from A-Rod, the New York offense broke out for 15 runs on 14 hits.  The knockout punch came in the 8th inning when A-Rod hit a grand slam on a 2-0 pitch following a walk to Teixiera.  The Yanks scored 7 runs in that frame and added two more in the 9th following some drama.  Martin was plunked by Josh Rupe in the back near the head with 2 outs on the first pitch.  It definitely looked intentional as Martin had hit 2 long balls earlier in the game.  Rupe of course denies any intent but why would he admit it if he meant to hit him?  It would only give the Yankees more reason to nail one of the Orioles in today's game.  We'll see if Freddy Garcia decides to make things interesting...the O's should be thankful that AJ Burnett isn't on the mound.  Brett Gardner followed up the hit batter by drilling another home run  to get him out of a 0-16 slump.

CC Sabathia was again brilliant against the Os who he now is 15-2 against lifetime--it was his first win of the season. The only blemish came in the 7th inning when he allowed a 3 run HR to Adam Jones to give Baltimore their only runs of the night.  Journeyman Buddy Carlyle relieved CC in the 9th and allowed a hit before retiring the last man of the game to end a night the Os wanted to forget.

Grades:

Offense: A+  Uh, could you give them any other grade for 15 runs?

Starting Pitching (Sabathia): A-  Was about to give him an A but the 3 run blast by Jones limits this grade to an A-

Bullpen:  A   Not much material to work with here but Carlyle did a good job in mop up relief.

Verification of Yesterday's Forecast:

Forecast Temp: 66
Observed Temp: 72
Forecast Conditions: A shower early, more clouds than sun/moon.
Observed Conditions:  Mostly cloudy, dry.

Grade: B-  Got the general idea but the temp was 6 degrees off and no rain was reported.