GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: NY YANKEES (55-48) at BALTIMORE (48-54)

AL: NY YANKEES at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL AT BALTIMORE - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Walker relieved C Doyne.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, M CABRERA ON FIRST, A PHILLIPS ON SECOND, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 4
BALTIMORE 7 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: J Damon (.243, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY DEREK JETER SCORED ANDY PHILLIPS.
SITUATION: 4 RUNS IN, D JETER ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 5
BALTIMORE 7 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: B ABREU (.268, 0-FOR-4)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY YANKEES 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 5 10 1
BALTIMORE 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 x 7 13 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: NYY - ROGER CLEMENS, MIKE MYERS (7TH), LUIS VIZCAINO (7TH), BRIAN
BRUNEY (8TH), RON VILLONE (8TH) AND JORGE POSADA

BAL - BRIAN BURRES, JOHN PARRISH (7TH), DANYS BAEZ
(8TH), CORY DOYNE (9TH), JAMIE WALKER (9TH) AND RAMON
HERNANDEZ

HOME RUNS: NYY - HIDEKI MATSUI (19) OFF BRIAN BURRES IN THE 7TH, 0 ON
JORGE POSADA (11) OFF CORY DOYNE IN THE 9TH, 1 ON

BAL - NONE</div>

 

Burres, Orioles hold down Rodriguez, Yankees

<h3>BALTIMORE 7, NY YANKEES 5</h3>BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Alex Rodriguez continues to struggle inhis pursuit of 500 home runs. Brian Burres and the BaltimoreOrioles made sure of it.


Burres tossed six solid innings and Miguel Tejada drove in fourruns as the Orioles held down Rodriguez and the New YorkYankees' stagnant offense in a 7-4 victory at Camden Yards onSaturday night.


Brian Roberts had two hits and three runs scored for Baltimore,which tied a season high with its sixth straight win.

After sweeping the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Orioles have wonthe first two contests of a three-game set against the Yankees.The teams started off the weekend by finishing a suspended gamefrom June 28.


Rodriguez, who leads the major leagues in homers and RBI, beltedhis 499th career blast on Wednesday in Kansas City but has donelittle since. The slugger is 0-for-9 with four strikeoutssince approaching the historic mark.


On Saturday, he went hitless in four at-bats, striking out threetimes. Rodriguez looked out of sync, swinging at many ballsout of the strike zone - perhaps preoccupied with No. 500.

Rodriguez was not the only Yankee to struggle at the plate. Theclub has combined for eight runs in their last three games andcontinued to struggled Saturday against Burres, who yielded justone run and four hits, while striking out seven and walkingthree.


John Parrish and Danys Baez each pitched clean frames, settingup the ninth for Cory Doyne, who allowed four runs and five hitsbefore being pulled without recording an out.


Jamie Walker came on with the tying run at the plate and notchedhis third save.


The Orioles got two quick runs in the first inning thanks toBrian Roberts, who led off the frame with a double off New Yorkstarter Roger Clemens (3-5). After Corey Patterson struck out,Nick Markakis walked, and Kevin Millar moved Roberts to thirdwith a deep fly ball.


Miguel Tejada then doubled home both runners.


Roberts also started a rally in the fifth, walking to lead offthe inning. Patterson sacrificed him to second, and Robertsthen stole third, setting up Markakis' RBI single to make it3-0.


Collecting just two hits through the first two innings, theYankees finally broke through in the seventh. Hideki Matsui ledoff the inning with a solo shot into the right field seats, andJorge Posada followed with a single to chase Burres (5-4).

But Parrish came on and worked out the jam, eventually retiringJohnny Damon, who represented the tying run, to end the threat.Damon also hit into a double play to help kill the ninth-inningrally.


Leading, 3-1, Baltimore added some insurance in the seventh.Tejada ripped a two-run single to give his club a four-runadvantage


Clemens allowed four runs and eight hits, while striking out sixand walking three, in 6 1/3 innings for the Yankees, who havelost three in a row after winning 11 of 13 games.

 

AL: NY YANKEES at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY YANKEES 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 5 10 1
BALTIMORE 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 x 7 13 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: NYY - ROGER CLEMENS, MIKE MYERS (7TH), LUIS VIZCAINO (7TH), BRIAN
BRUNEY (8TH), RON VILLONE (8TH) AND JORGE POSADA

BAL - BRIAN BURRES, JOHN PARRISH (7TH), DANYS BAEZ
(8TH), CORY DOYNE (9TH), JAMIE WALKER (9TH) AND RAMON
HERNANDEZ


WP - BRIAN BURRES (5-4)
LP - ROGER CLEMENS (3-5)
SAVE - JAMIE WALKER (3)

HOME RUNS: NYY - HIDEKI MATSUI (19) OFF BRIAN BURRES IN THE 7TH, 0 ON
JORGE POSADA (11) OFF CORY DOYNE IN THE 9TH, 1 ON

BAL - NONE


TIME: 3:30 ATT: 48,402

PROBABLES: NYY - CHIEN-MING WANG (11-5, 3.57)
BAL - DANIEL CABRERA (7-10, 5.04)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">NY YANKEES (5) VS BALTIMORE (7) - FINAL

NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon dh 4 0 0 0 1 1 5 .242
D Jeter ss 4 0 1 1 1 1 1 .329
B Abreu rf 5 0 0 0 0 2 3 .267
A Rodriguez 3b 4 0 0 0 0 3 2 .304
H Matsui lf 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 .293
J Posada c 4 1 2 2 0 1 1 .330
R Cano 2b 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 .298
A Phillips 1b 4 1 1 0 0 2 2 .308
M Cabrera cf 2 0 2 1 1 0 0 .286

Totals 34 5 10 5 4 10 15

BATTING: 2B - R Cano (27, C Doyne). HR - H Matsui (19, 7th inning off B Burres
0 on, 0 Out), J Posada (11, 9th inning off C Doyne 1 on, 0 Out). RBI - H Matsui
(68), J Posada 2 (58), M Cabrera (38), D Jeter (50). 2-out RBI - D Jeter.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Damon 2, A Rodriguez 1, B Abreu 1.
GIDP - J Damon 2. Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: SB - J Damon (19, 2nd base off B Burres/R Hernandez), M Cabrera
(9, 2nd base off B Burres/R Hernandez). CS - D Jeter (8, 2nd base by B Burres/R
Hernandez).

FIELDING: E - A Rodriguez (7, ground ball). DP: 1 (D Jeter-R Cano-A
Phillips).


BALTIMORE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
B Roberts 2b 3 3 2 1 1 0 4 .315
C Patterson cf 4 1 2 0 0 2 3 .264
N Markakis rf 4 1 1 2 1 2 2 .290
K Millar 1b 4 0 0 0 1 1 3 .270
M Tejada ss 4 0 2 4 0 0 1 .304
A Huff dh 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .251
R Hernandez c 4 1 2 0 0 1 1 .262
J Payton lf 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 .270
C Gomez 3b 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 .310

Totals 34 7 13 7 4 8 19

BATTING: 2B - B Roberts (26, R Clemens); M Tejada (13, R Clemens). S - C
Patterson. SF - B Roberts. RBI - M Tejada 4 (45), N Markakis 2 (64), B Roberts
(35). 2-out RBI - M Tejada 4. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M
Tejada 1, K Millar 2, C Patterson 1, A Huff 2. GIDP - R Hernandez. Team LOB -
9.

BASERUNNING: SB - B Roberts (31, 3rd base off R Clemens/J Posada), N Markakis
(13, 2nd base off R Clemens/J Posada), C Patterson (25, 2nd base off M Myers/J
Posada). CS - R Hernandez (2, 2nd base by R Clemens/J Posada).

FIELDING: DP: 3 (K Millar-M Tejada, R Hernandez-B Roberts, B Roberts-M
Tejada-K Millar).


----------------------------------------------------
NY YANKEES - 000 000 104 -- 5
BALTIMORE - 200 010 22x -- 7
----------------------------------------------------

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
R Clemens (L, 3-5) 6 1/3 8 4 4 3 6 0 3.92
M Myers 1/3 1 1 1 0 1 0 2.61
L Vizcaino 1/3 1 0 0 1 0 0 4.05
B Bruney 1/3 3 2 1 0 0 0 3.40
R Villone 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.12

BALTIMORE ip h r er bb so hr era
B Burres (W, 5-4) 6 4 1 1 3 7 1 4.12
J Parrish (H, 10) 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 5.21
D Baez 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.71
C Doyne 0 5 4 4 0 0 1 23.14
J Walker (S, 3) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.43

B Burres pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.
C Doyne pitched to 5 batters in the 9th.

HBP - M Cabrera (by B Burres). Pitches-strikes: R Clemens 113-67; M Myers
8-5; L Vizcaino 9-4; B Bruney 14-11; R Villone 8-6; B Burres 98-58; J Parrish
19-10; D Baez 8-6; C Doyne 16-10; J Walker 14-9. Ground balls-fly balls: R
Clemens 7-5; M Myers 0-0; L Vizcaino 0-1; B Bruney 0-1; R Villone 1-0; B Burres
5-5; J Parrish 2-0; D Baez 1-1; C Doyne 0-0; J Walker 2-0. Batters faced: R
Clemens 28; M Myers 2; L Vizcaino 3; B Bruney 5; R Villone 2; B Burres 24; J
Parrish 4; D Baez 3; C Doyne 5; J Walker 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Bob Davidson. 1B--Sam Holbrook. 2B--Hunter Wendelstedt.
3B--Randy Marsh.

T--3:30. Att--48,402.
Weather: 94 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 5 mph, in
from left.</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
NY YANKEES 5
BALTIMORE 7 FINAL</div>

 

Burres, Orioles hold down Rodriguez, Yankees

<h3>BALTIMORE 7, NY YANKEES 5</h3>BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Alex Rodriguez continues to struggle inhis pursuit of 500 home runs. Brian Burres and the BaltimoreOrioles made sure of it.


Burres tossed six solid innings and Miguel Tejada drove in fourruns as the Orioles held down Rodriguez and the New YorkYankees' stagnant offense in a 7-5 victory at Camden Yards onSaturday night.


Brian Roberts had two hits and three runs scored for Baltimore,which tied a season high with its sixth straight win.

After sweeping the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Orioles have wonthe first two contests of a three-game set against the Yankees.The teams started off the weekend by finishing a suspended gamefrom June 28.


Rodriguez, who leads the major leagues in homers and RBI, beltedhis 499th career blast on Wednesday in Kansas City but has donelittle since. The slugger is 0-for-9 with four strikeoutssince approaching the historic mark.


On Saturday, he went hitless in four at-bats, striking out threetimes. Rodriguez looked out of sync, swinging at many ballsout of the strike zone - perhaps preoccupied with No. 500.

Rodriguez was not the only Yankee to struggle at the plate. Theclub has combined for eight runs in their last three games andcontinued to struggled Saturday against Burres, who yielded justone run and four hits, while striking out seven and walkingthree.


John Parrish and Danys Baez each pitched clean frames, settingup the ninth for Cory Doyne, who allowed four runs and five hitsbefore being pulled without recording an out.


Jamie Walker came on with the tying run at the plate and notchedhis third save.


The Orioles got two quick runs in the first inning thanks toBrian Roberts, who led off the frame with a double off New Yorkstarter Roger Clemens (3-5). After Corey Patterson struck out,Nick Markakis walked, and Kevin Millar moved Roberts to thirdwith a deep fly ball.


Miguel Tejada then doubled home both runners.


Roberts also started a rally in the fifth, walking to lead offthe inning. Patterson sacrificed him to second, and Robertsthen stole third, setting up Markakis' RBI single to make it3-0.


Collecting just two hits through the first two innings, theYankees finally broke through in the seventh. Hideki Matsui ledoff the inning with a solo shot into the right field seats, andJorge Posada followed with a single to chase Burres (5-4).

But Parrish came on and worked out the jam, eventually retiringJohnny Damon, who represented the tying run, to end the threat.Damon also hit into a double play to help kill the ninth-inningrally.


Leading, 3-1, Baltimore added some insurance in the seventh.Tejada ripped a two-run single to give his club a four-runadvantage


Clemens allowed four runs and eight hits, while striking out sixand walking three, in 6 1/3 innings for the Yankees, who havelost three in a row after winning 11 of 13 games.

 

AL: NY YANKEES at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NY YANKEES (5) AT BALTIMORE (7) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BALTIMORE 1ST: B Roberts doubled to right. C Patterson struck out
swinging. N Markakis walked. K Millar flied out to center, B Roberts to
third. M Tejada doubled to left, B Roberts and N Markakis scored. A Huff
grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, BALTIMORE 2.

BALTIMORE 5TH: B Roberts walked. C Patterson sacrificed to pitcher,
B Roberts to second. B Roberts stole third. N Markakis singled to left,
B Roberts scored. N Markakis stole second. K Millar flied out to right,
N Markakis to third. M Tejada flied out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 0, BALTIMORE 3.

NY YANKEES 7TH: H Matsui homered to right. J Posada singled to left.
J Parrish relieved B Burres. R Cano grounded into fielder's choice to second,
J Posada out at second. A Phillips struck out swinging. M Cabrera walked,
R Cano to second. J Damon grounded out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 1, BALTIMORE 3.

BALTIMORE 7TH: C Gomez grounded out to shortstop. B Roberts singled to
left. M Myers relieved R Clemens. C Patterson singled to shallow center,
B Roberts to third. C Patterson stole second. N Markakis struck out swinging.
L Vizcaino relieved M Myers. K Millar walked. M Tejada singled to right,
B Roberts and C Patterson scored, K Millar to third. A Huff flied out to left.
(2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 1, BALTIMORE 5.

BALTIMORE 8TH: B Bruney relieved L Vizcaino. R Hernandez singled to left.
J Payton safe at first on error by third baseman A Rodriguez, R Hernandez to
second. C Gomez singled to left, R Hernandez to third, J Payton to second.
B Roberts hit sacrifice fly to center, R Hernandez scored. C Patterson singled
to right, J Payton to third, C Gomez to second. R Villone relieved B Bruney.
N Markakis grounded out to second, J Payton scored, C Gomez to third, C Patterson
to second. K Millar struck out looking. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) NY YANKEES 1,
BALTIMORE 7.

NY YANKEES 9TH: C Doyne relieved D Baez. H Matsui reached on infield single
to second. J Posada homered to right, H Matsui scored. R Cano doubled to deep
right. A Phillips singled to left, R Cano to third. M Cabrera singled to
right, R Cano scored, A Phillips to second. J Walker relieved C Doyne. J Damon
grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, M Cabrera out at
second, A Phillips to third. D Jeter singled to left, A Phillips scored.
D Jeter to second on fielder's indifference. B Abreu struck out swinging.
(4 Runs, 6 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 5, BALTIMORE 7.</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NY YANKEES (5) AT BALTIMORE (7) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ny Yankees Starting Lineups -- J Damon DH, D Jeter SS, B Abreu RF, A Rodriguez 3B,
H Matsui LF, J Posada C, R Cano 2B, A Phillips 1B, M Cabrera CF, R Clemens RHP.

Baltimore Starting Lineups -- B Roberts 2B, C Patterson CF, N Markakis RF,
K Millar 1B, M Tejada SS, A Huff DH, R Hernandez C, J Payton LF, C Gomez 3B,
B Burres LHP.

Umpires -- Bob Davidson (HP), Sam Holbrook (1B), Hunter Wendelstedt (2B),
Randy Marsh (3B).

Gametime Weather: 94 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind in from left at 5 mph.


NY YANKEES 1ST: J Damon walked. D Jeter struck out swinging. B Abreu
struck out looking. J Damon stole second. A Rodriguez struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, BALTIMORE 0.

BALTIMORE 1ST: B Roberts doubled to right. C Patterson struck out
swinging. N Markakis walked. K Millar flied out to center, B Roberts to
third. M Tejada doubled to left, B Roberts and N Markakis scored. A Huff
grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, BALTIMORE 2.

NY YANKEES 2ND: H Matsui flied out to left. J Posada grounded out to
shortstop. R Cano singled to center. A Phillips grounded into fielder's
choice to shortstop, R Cano out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 0, BALTIMORE 2.

BALTIMORE 2ND: R Hernandez struck out looking. J Payton reached on infield
single to shortstop. C Gomez singled to center, J Payton to second. B Roberts
lined out to left. C Patterson struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 0, BALTIMORE 2.

NY YANKEES 3RD: M Cabrera hit by pitch. J Damon grounded into double play,
first to shortstop, M Cabrera out at second. D Jeter fouled out to first.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, BALTIMORE 2.

BALTIMORE 3RD: N Markakis struck out swinging. K Millar flied out to left.
M Tejada grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0,
BALTIMORE 2.

NY YANKEES 4TH: B Abreu grounded out to shortstop. A Rodriguez fouled out
to third. H Matsui walked. J Posada struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, BALTIMORE 2.

BALTIMORE 4TH: A Huff singled to left. R Hernandez grounded into double
play, shortstop to second to first, A Huff out at second. J Payton walked.
C Gomez grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, BALTIMORE 2.

NY YANKEES 5TH: R Cano flied out to left. A Phillips struck out swinging.
M Cabrera singled to left. M Cabrera stole second. J Damon struck out looking.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, BALTIMORE 2.

BALTIMORE 5TH: B Roberts walked. C Patterson sacrificed to pitcher,
B Roberts to second. B Roberts stole third. N Markakis singled to left,
B Roberts scored. N Markakis stole second. K Millar flied out to right,
N Markakis to third. M Tejada flied out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 0, BALTIMORE 3.

NY YANKEES 6TH: D Jeter walked. B Abreu lined out to right. A Rodriguez
struck out swinging. D Jeter caught stealing second, catcher to second.(0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, BALTIMORE 3.

BALTIMORE 6TH: A Huff struck out looking. R Hernandez singled to center.
R Hernandez caught stealing second, catcher to second. J Payton struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 0, BALTIMORE 3.

NY YANKEES 7TH: H Matsui homered to right. J Posada singled to left.
J Parrish relieved B Burres. R Cano grounded into fielder's choice to second,
J Posada out at second. A Phillips struck out swinging. M Cabrera walked,
R Cano to second. J Damon grounded out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 1, BALTIMORE 3.

BALTIMORE 7TH: C Gomez grounded out to shortstop. B Roberts singled to
left. M Myers relieved R Clemens. C Patterson singled to shallow center,
B Roberts to third. C Patterson stole second. N Markakis struck out swinging.
L Vizcaino relieved M Myers. K Millar walked. M Tejada singled to right,
B Roberts and C Patterson scored, K Millar to third. A Huff flied out to left.
(2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 1, BALTIMORE 5.

NY YANKEES 8TH: D Baez relieved J Parrish. D Jeter grounded out to third.
B Abreu flied out to left. A Rodriguez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 1, BALTIMORE 5.

BALTIMORE 8TH: B Bruney relieved L Vizcaino. R Hernandez singled to left.
J Payton safe at first on error by third baseman A Rodriguez, R Hernandez to
second. C Gomez singled to left, R Hernandez to third, J Payton to second.
B Roberts hit sacrifice fly to center, R Hernandez scored. C Patterson singled
to right, J Payton to third, C Gomez to second. R Villone relieved B Bruney.
N Markakis grounded out to second, J Payton scored, C Gomez to third, C Patterson
to second. K Millar struck out looking. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) NY YANKEES 1,
BALTIMORE 7.

NY YANKEES 9TH: C Doyne relieved D Baez. H Matsui reached on infield single
to second. J Posada homered to right, H Matsui scored. R Cano doubled to deep
right. A Phillips singled to left, R Cano to third. M Cabrera singled to
right, R Cano scored, A Phillips to second. J Walker relieved C Doyne. J Damon
grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, M Cabrera out at
second, A Phillips to third. D Jeter singled to left, A Phillips scored.
D Jeter to second on fielder's indifference. B Abreu struck out swinging.
(4 Runs, 6 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 5, BALTIMORE 7.</div>

 

Burres, Orioles hold down Rodriguez, Yankees

<h3>BALTIMORE 7, NY YANKEES 5</h3>BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Alex Rodriguez continues to struggle inhis pursuit of 500 home runs. Brian Burres and the BaltimoreOrioles made sure of it.


Burres tossed six solid innings and Miguel Tejada drove in fourruns as the Orioles held down Rodriguez and the New YorkYankees' stagnant offense in a 7-5 victory at Camden Yards onSaturday night.


Brian Roberts had two hits and three runs scored for Baltimore,which tied a season high with its sixth straight win.

After sweeping the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Orioles have wonthe first two contests of a three-game set against the Yankees.The teams started off the weekend by finishing a suspended gamefrom June 28.


"We're teaching team baseball," Oriole interim manager DaveTrembley said. "I think that's how you get everybody buyinginto what's going on and you get everybody playing the game allnine innings."


Rodriguez, who leads the major leagues in homers and RBI, beltedhis 499th career blast on Wednesday in Kansas City but has donelittle since. The slugger is 0-for-9 with four strikeoutssince approaching the historic mark.


On Saturday, he went hitless in four at-bats, striking out threetimes. Rodriguez looked out of sync, swinging at many ballsout of the strike zone - perhaps preoccupied with No. 500.

"They're being extremely careful. I'm kind of playing intotheir hands a little bit. There's not much I can do with thepitches I'm swinging at," Rodriguez said. "I got one pitch (tohit) in three games. They're being careful. I can't help it."

Rodriguez was not the only Yankee to struggle at the plate. Theclub has combined for eight runs in their last three games andcontinued to struggled Saturday against Burres, who yielded justone run and four hits, while striking out seven and walkingthree.


"I felt like I could throw the ball pretty much where I wantedto," Burres said. "I just concentrated on the glove."

"Runs are a premium, and for a few days there, it looked like wehad no trouble scoring runs and we didn't put that muchemphasis on pitching, but pitching is really the only way tocontrol the game," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.

John Parrish and Danys Baez each pitched clean frames, settingup the ninth for Cory Doyne, who allowed four runs and five hitsbefore being pulled without recording an out.


"Obviously, his (Doyne) fastball was too much in the middle ofthe plate. They are a good hitting club," Trembley said."They've got nothing to lose. They are behind in the game andthey are not going to take pitches and he threw fastballs inlocations where they can hit it."


Jamie Walker came on with the tying run at the plate and notchedhis third save. But it was not without drama.


The Yankees cut their deficit to 7-5 on Derek Jeter's RBIsingle, bringing up Bobby Abreu, who worked the count fullbefore swinging through a hanging slider to end the game.Rodriguez was left on deck.


The Orioles got two quick runs in the first inning thanks toBrian Roberts, who led off the frame with a double off New Yorkstarter Roger Clemens (3-5). After Corey Patterson struck out,Nick Markakis walked, and Kevin Millar moved Roberts to thirdwith a deep fly ball.


Miguel Tejada then doubled home both runners.


Roberts also started a rally in the fifth, walking to lead offthe inning. Patterson sacrificed him to second, and Robertsthen stole third, setting up Markakis' RBI single to make it3-0.


Collecting just two hits through the first two innings, theYankees finally broke through in the seventh. Hideki Matsui ledoff the inning with a solo shot into the right field seats, andJorge Posada followed with a single to chase Burres (5-4).

But Parrish came on and worked out the jam, eventually retiringJohnny Damon, who represented the tying run, to end the threat.Damon also hit into a double play to help kill the ninth-inningrally.


Leading, 3-1, Baltimore added some insurance in the seventh.Tejada ripped a two-run single to give his club a four-runadvantage.


"Winning is nice," Tejada said. "Good thing we scored many runsbecause we are playing one of the best teams in baseball."

Clemens allowed four runs and eight hits, while striking out sixand walking three, in 6 1/3 innings for the Yankees, who havelost three in a row after winning 11 of 13 games.


"It was their day. We mounted a little charge late, but itwasn't enough," Clemens said.