Baltimore, MD – Chris Davis went 4-for-4 and was one of three Baltimore players to homer as the Orioles slugged their way to a 6-3 win over the New York Yankees in the finale of a three-game series.
Davis topped Nick Markakis' solo blast in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run shot later in the frame, while Matt Wieters tacked on a three-run homer later on to help Baltimore down its AL East rival for a second straight night after opening an eight-game homestand with six consecutive losses.
"Any time a division rival comes in you want to win the series," Davis said. "We were able to get back on track."
Wieters, Adam Jones and Manny Machado each collected two hits to back 6 2/3 solid innings from Jason Hammel (6-2), who held the Yankees to a pair of runs while striking out six.
Counterpart Huroki Kuroda (6-3) had a rough time, serving up eight hits and getting charged for five runs before exiting with none out in the bottom of the third, the result of a bruised right calf the New York starter sustained from a Machado line drive an inning earlier.
Curtis Granderson had a big night in defeat for the Yankees, finishing 3-for-3 with two runs scored and his first home run of the season. David Adams added another solo homer in the top of the ninth.
Kuroda was greeted rudely in his first career start at Camden Yards, with Markakis depositing a two-out slider over the wall in right center and Jones following with a single that extended the opening inning for Davis, who mashed a full-count offering into the center-field seats to stake the Orioles to a 3-0 lead.
"(Kuroda) made some mistakes in the first inning, and they jumped in it," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
The homer was Davis' 14th of the season, which ties him with Atlanta's Justin Upton for tops in the majors.
Kuroda escaped the second without Baltimore extending the margin, managing to retire Markakis with two on and two out immediately after taking Machado's liner off his leg, and the Yankees cut into the deficit when Granderson doubled to begin the third and crossed the plate on Robinson Cano's ensuing single to center.
However, Jones doubled and Davis singled to end Kuroda's night with none out in the bottom of the inning. Wieters then greeted reliever Preston Claiborne with a deep drive that cleared the fence in right center for a 6-1 Orioles' advantage.
Hammel prevented further damage in the top of the third by inducing a double- play grounder with a pair of runners aboard. His only blemish thereafter came when Granderson connected in the fifth for New York's second run.
The power-hitting outfielder, who entered the contest mired in a 4-for-23 skid since returning from a fractured forearm, tied for second in the AL with 43 homers last season.
Brian Matusz silenced the Yankee bats in 1 1/3 innings in relief of Hammel, with Adams accounting for the final margin with his second homer of the series, a shot off Darren O'Day to open the ninth.
Game Notes
Yankees outfielder Ichiro Suzuki singled in his first at-bat and has now hit safely in 21 straight games at Camden Yards, one shy of the longest streak by any player in the park's history. Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury hit in 22 straight there from 2008-12. Suzuki also tied Cincinnati's Joey Votto, who's hit in 21 in a row at Milwaukee's Miller Park, for the longest active run at any ballpark ... Markakis' homer extended his hitting streak to seven games, but teammate Chris Dickerson had a seven-game tear snapped after going 0-for-4 ... Baltimore's Nate McLouth stole his 14th base of the year, one more than Ellsbury for the current AL lead ... Kuroda has given up at least one run in five of his 10 starts in 2013.
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