Bronx, NY – Brian Matusz snapped a 14-start losing streak and Buck Showalter earned win No. 1,000 in his managerial career, as the Orioles upended the Yankees, 7-1 in the middle test of a three-game series.
Matusz (1-3) limited New York to one run -- on Curtis Granderson's first- inning homer -- and six hits over 6 1/3 innings. The 25-year-old righty, a 10- game winner in 2010, had been 0-12 since his previous victory on June 6, 2011.
"Game by game I feel like I'm getting better and better," Matusz said. "It feels good."
His effort, in addition a two-run homer by J.J. Hardy and a solo shot by Chris Davis, helped Showalter become the 58th manager in MLB history to win 1,000 career games. Davis went 3-for-4 and scored three times.
Phil Hughes (1-4) continued his struggles, allowing four runs on four hits and one walk over 5 2/3 innings to take the loss.
The Yankees had won all four games against their AL East rival this season, but their 4-through-9 hitters went a combined 0-for-22 at the plate on Tuesday.
Baltimore padded its 3-1 lead with a two-out rally in the seventh. After retiring the first two hitters, Hughes plunked Matt Wieters and was pulled for Boone Logan, who promptly surrendered consecutive singles, including a run- scoring base hit to Wilson Betemit.
Nick Johnson, stuck in an 0-for-28 slump to start the season, poked a fly ball to left field for what appeared to be the final out. Eduardo Nunez, playing his second career game in left, was late charging in on the ball, and it landed just out of his reach. The error resulted in Davis and Betemit both scoring.
New York loaded the bases in the seventh, but Darren O'Day worked out of the jam by getting Alex Rodriguez to pop out to the catcher.
Johnson ended his season-long drought with an RBI double in the eighth, and the Orioles' bullpen took over from there.
Davis countered Granderson's towering solo home run with one of his own in the second inning.
The Yankees were 8-0 when scoring first this season, but Hardy gave the Orioles the lead for good in the third when he turned on a middle-high fastball and deposited it into the left-field seats. Robert Andino walked ahead of the blast.
"The one mistake to Hardy is the one that really hurt tonight," Hughes said.
Game Notes
Showalter won his first game as a major league manager on April 7, 1992, when his Yankees beat the Red Sox on Opening Day...Orioles outfielder Adam Jones went 1-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 10 games...Orioles outfielder Nolan Reimold sat out due to a bulging disk in his back...Granderson has nine home runs, eight coming at home...Derek Jeter had three of the Yankees' seven hits...Hughes' earned run average fell from 7.88 to 7.48...Yankees reliever D.J. Mitchell made his major-league debut in ninth and tossed a scoreless inning...The rubber match of this series pits New York's Ivan Nova against Baltimore's Jake Arrieta.
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