Yanks rough up O’s, take share of division lead

After two days off the Yanks beat the O’s 7-4 on Wednesday to move into a first-place tie with Baltimore.

AJ had a much better game than his line suggests. Girardi left him in too long (shades of the ALCS game from last year), he shouldn’t have even been out there for the seventh. AJ went 6 1/3 innings and gave up four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts to two walks. It’s amazing that he lasted as long as he did because he threw 53 pitches through two innings, but he settled down and recorded a six-pitch, 1-2-3 third inning — the first 1-2-3 inning by a starter since last Thursday (AJ against the Twins).

It should be duly noted that AJ Burnett (3-0) now has more wins than the Boston Red Sox (2-9).

D-Rob got the final two outs of the seventh, So worked a one-hit eighth and Mo hurled a perfect ninth. Mo, who recorded his 564th career save and fifth on the year, has now thrown 5 1/3 innings with five strikeouts, two hits and NO WALKS OR RUNS on the year.

Nothing cures a slumping offense like Chris Tillman, who gave up hits to five of the first six batters he faced. The Yanks went on to abuse him for nine hits (12 total) and six runs (seven total) in 1 2/3 innings. Yikes. In the process, a lot of slumps were busted:

• Tex, who was 0-for-18 coming in, went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
• Posada snapped an 0-for-19 skid with a homer in the fifth and finished 2-for-4. Georgie recorded his 1,589th hit to move into sole possession of 14th place on the franchise hits list (passing Phil Rizzuto). However, he’s still just 6-for-33 with four home runs on the season.
• Jeet went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs, and tied Barry Bonds for 32nd on the all-time hits list with his 2,935th career base knock AND tied Billy Hamilton for 25th on the all-time runs scored list with his 1,691st run.
• A-Rod went 2-for-3 with a three-run bomb to record his 1,839th RBI, which ties him with Ted Williams and Al Simmons for 11th on the all-time list. For what it’s worth, it took him 128 at-bats last year to hit his fourth homer but he did it in 29 at-bats this season.
• Every Yankee starter recorded a hit except for Grandy, and even he reached base with a walk.

The MRI on Pedro Feliciano was not good, Girardi said at the post-game conference. He wouldn’t elaborate, but said he had a “damaged shoulder” and needed to talk with Yankees team doctors and his agent, and needs to decide on surgery.

This date in Yankee history:

It was two years ago today that Swish Dog made his triumphant pitching debut