BALTIMORE – Aaron Hicks drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, and the New York Yankees completed a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a 6-5 victory Thursday afternoon after blowing a four-run lead.
New York’s Masahiro Tanaka allowed one run and five hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out five.
Coming off a start against Tampa Bay in which he took a line drive off the shin, Tanaka was hit by a comebacker off the bat of Rio Ruiz in the second. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the ball hit the pitcher’s hand, and drove it back into his chest.
Tanaka picked up the ball and threw wildly to first to help Baltimore take a 1-0 lead.
The Yankees were far more concerned about his health than the run. Fortunately, the right-hander needed only a few practice throws before resuming his domination of the Orioles.
In the ninth, Hicks came up against Mychal Givens (0-2) after Gleyber Torres and Gary Sanchez extended the inning in pinch-hitting roles. Torres drew a full-count walk, and two pitches later, Sanchez moved the runner to second by lining a base hit to right field.
After Givens walked DJ LeMahieu on four pitches, he threw three straight out of the strike zone to Hicks. Hicks then took a called strike, fouled off the next pitch and then looked at a close pitch for ball four.
New York held a 5-1 lead entering the bottom of the eighth.
Former Orioles closer Zack Britton pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his second save.
Twins 16, Angels 7
In Anaheim, California, Minnesota slammed eight home runs, including two each by Miguel Sano and Jonathan Schoop, on its way to a rout of Los Angeles, completing a three-game sweep.
In Other Games
Mets 6, Nationals 4
Braves 5, Giants 4 (13)
Marlins 5, Tigers 2
Pirates 14, Rockies 6
White Sox 4, Astros 0
Phillies 9, Cubs 7
Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 2
Rays 7, Indians 2
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Source : Baseball – The Japan Times