Orioles beat Yanks in 13th, even series

NEW YORK — First flying bugs, now a flying bat.

When it comes to the postseason, Joba Chamberlain is jinxed.

The Yankees hope their season isn't, too.

Chamberlain was knocked out of Game 4 of the AL Division Series on Thursday night when the barrel of Matt Wieters' broken bat hit him on the right elbow in the 12th inning. The Baltimore Orioles went on to a 2-1 victory that forced a decisive Game 5 on Friday night, getting the go-ahead run when Manny Machado doubled against David Phelps leading off the 13th and scored on J.J. Hardy's RBI double.

"I don't know if I would hang out with me very much. I might need a bubble," Chamberlain said.

He might not be the only one.

On another Bronx night filled with controversy, Alex Rodriguez was pinch hit for once again. Eric Chavez batted in place of slumping A-Rod and ended the game with a lineout to third off Jim Johnson.

"I just do what I'm told," Chavez said. "It's kind of crazy."

Now it's up to CC Sabathia to show he's an ace, taking the mound Friday night against Jason Hammel in a rematch of Game 1 starters.

"It's time to go," Sabathia said. "This is a one-game playoff, and this is what we play for. We're here in the Bronx at home, and like I said, I'll be excited and ready to go."

New York outlasted Baltimore for the AL East title last week. Now the Yankees will try to do it again and advance to the AL Championship Series against Detroit.

"It's the same game whether it's the first game of the season or the postseason," said Derek Jeter, who shifted to designated hitter because of a sore left foot. "We're going to try to have fun with it, enjoy it."

New York had runners on base in each of the first eight innings, but the Yankees went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and dropped to 6-for-28 (.214) in the series.

A-Rod, 2-for-16 (.125) with no RBIs and nine strikeouts, fanned against side-arming right-hander Darren O'Day with runners on second and third and one out in the eighth. Nick Swisher then flied out.

"It's obviously frustrating," Rodriguez said. "That was a situation that I could do some damage, and just couldn't get it done tonight."

He's not the only slumping star. Curtis Granderson is 1-for-16 (.125) with nine Ks. Robinson Cano is 2-for-18 (.111) and hitless in his last 11 at-bats. Russell Martin is batting .214, Ichiro Suzuki .200 and Swisher .133.

"There's really good pitching," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "There's guys on the other side that are struggling, too. You're seeing some really good pitching in these four games."

Girardi won't know until Friday whether his bullpen will include Chamberlain, who has had enough mound misfortunes to fill a horror film.

Sabathia held off the Orioles in winning the opener 7-2, allowing two runs and eight hits in 8? innings.

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Orioles win to reach ALDS

ARLINGTON, Texas — Yu Darvish's first big league season ended on Friday, when the Texas Rangers lost the American League Wild-Card game 5-1 to the Baltimore Orioles.

Up to the challenge: Orioles outfielder Nate McLouth hits an RBI single against Texas on Friday. AP

Darvish allowed three runs, two earned, in 6? innings to take the loss.

"It's over so quickly," said Darvish, who went 16-9 with a 3.90 ERA during the regular season. "It's said that a season is like running a marathon. It feels like we just started and we've stopped. It doesn't feel like it's done."

After both teams traded runs in the first, the Orioles took the lead in the sixth when back-to-back singles put runners on the corners and Adam Jones delivered a sacrifice fly. Darvish allowed a leadoff single in the seventh. He left with two outs and a runner on second, but reliever Derek Holland uncorked a wild pitch and surrendered an RBI single to Nate McLouth.

"Overall, my command was good," Darvish said. "From a personal standpoint, I kept us in the game and pitched well, but winning is really all that matters."

Koji Uehara kept the Rangers within two runs with three swinging strikeouts against his former teammates in the eighth, but closer Joe Nathan surrendered two more runs in the top of the ninth to make it 5-1 Baltimore.

"It's too bad we couldn't win, but I pitched 100 percent of my own style out there," said Uehara, who was traded to Texas last year from Baltimore.

The Orioles advanced to play the East champion Yankees, the AL's top seed. The teams split 18 games this season.

The upstart Orioles spent the whole second half chasing the Yankees, never passing them and falling just short in a neck-and-neck race for the division title.

Turns out, the Yankees haven't brushed off these Birds just yet.

"Real proud of everybody. Tacking on runs were big, knew they were going to run at you," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "But just a real proud moment for us."

NEW YORK — Ichiro Suzuki has spent a decade of Octobers watching the baseball playoffs, shouting at his TV like so many fans.

Celebrating an AL East championship Thursday night with his new teammates, he noticed life is different now that he's with the New York Yankees.

"Usually that would be the end of my season," Suzuki said Friday night before a workout at Yankee Stadium. "What I've realized is here, for the Yankees, is that it's the starting point."

Acquired from the Seattle Mariners in late July, Suzuki helped spur the Yankees to their 13th division title in 17 years with a special September. On Sunday, he most likely will be playing in the outfield for Game 1 of the division series against the Baltimore Orioles.

The 10-time All-Star came to New York hitting a career-low .261 and with a reputation for being a malcontent in the Seattle clubhouse. He dismissed all that immediately, impressing the Yankees with his knowledge of English, sense of humor and a remarkable stretch at the plate.

He helped carry the Yankees through a thrilling September run — hitting .385 (35-for-91) with 11 RBIs for the month — and New York won the division on the last day of the regular season.

He's fun," Derek Jeter said last week. "In order to do what he has for that many years, you have to have fun."

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Orioles miss chance to tie for AL East lead

BOSTON — The Baltimore Orioles ended a successful road trip by wasting an opportunity to climb into a tie for the AL East lead.

Playing for pride: Red Sox reliever Junichi Tazawa pitches against the Orioles on Sunday in Boston. The Red Sox won 2-1. KYODO

When Ryan Flaherty struck out with the bases loaded in the ninth inning Sunday, the Red Sox had a 2-1 win and the Orioles headed home after going 6-3 on the journey to Oakland, Seattle and Boston.

Reliever Junichi Tazawa (1-1) earned the win for the Red Sox.

"We needed this one. Obviously, going down to this last stretch every game is looked at as a must win," Adam Jones said. "We had a good road trip. We really, really wanted this one to finish off the road trip, but it happens."

The Orioles remained one game behind the New York Yankees and lead Oakland by one game for the top wild-card spot in the league. The Athletics beat the Yankees 5-4.

"Coming to Boston, take two out of three, I don't care what kind of team we're playing or how we're playing," Baltimore's Mark Reynolds said. "It's always big and we keep wining series and we'll see where we're at here in a week or two."

Yankees 5, Athletics 4

In New York, Cliff Pennington hit a go-ahead single in the sixth inning after a key error by backup shortstop Eduardo Nunez.

Hiroki Kuroda (14-11) took the loss, allowing five runs — four earned — in 5? innings. Ichiro Suzuki finished 1-for-5.

Angels 4, White Sox 1

In Anaheim, Jered Weaver kept the Angels within striking distance in the AL wild-card chase, posting his league-leading 19th victory with a decision over the struggling White Sox.

Twins 10, Tigers 4 (1st)

Twins 2, Tigers 1 (10) (2nd)

In Detroit, Jamey Carroll hit an RBI single in the 10th inning and the Twins beat the Tigers, winning both games of a doubleheader to prevent Detroit from at least tying the Chicago White Sox atop the AL Central.

Detroit closer Jose Valverde (3-4) allowed pinch hitter Denard Span to lead off the extra inning with a single and gave up a one-out, fall-behind single to Carroll.

Indians 15, Royals 4

In Kansas City, Carlos Santana hit two homers and drove in five runs as the Indians routed the Royals in their highest-scoring game of the season.

Rays 3, Blue Jays 0

In St. Petersburg, Florida, B.J. Upton hit his eighth home run in 14 games and Jeremy Hellickson won for the first time in more than a month.

Rangers 3, Mariners 2

In Seattle, Ryan Dempster allowed two runs and six hits over six-plus innings and Mike Napoli and Geovany Soto homered.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cardinals 6, Cubs 3

In Chicago, Kyle Lohse and the short-handed Cardinals won for the sixth time in seven games.

Brewers 6, Nationals 2

In Washington, Jonathan Lucroy had a pair of RBI singles and Milwaukee beat the Nationals.

Norichika Aoki went 0-for-5 for the Brewers.

Braves 2, Phillies 1

In Philadelphia, Tim Hudson tossed two-hit ball over 7? innings to help the Braves move to the brink of a playoff spot.

Pirates 8, Astros 1

In Houston, A.J. Burnett allowed one run in eight innings for his 16th win, and Josh Harrison tied a career high with four hits to jumpstart Pittsburgh's offense in a win over the Astros.

Mets 3, Marlins 2

In New York, Ruben Tejada singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Mets a victory over Miami.

Diamondbacks 10, Rockies 7

In Denver, Aaron Hill hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning to help Arizona to a win against Colorado.

Padres 6, Giants 4

In San Francisco, Yonder Alonso's two-run single in the seventh inning snapped a tie and helped the Padres beat the Giants.

Dodgers 5, Reds 3

In Cincinnati, Adrian Gonzalez hit a pair of solo homers off Homer Bailey, powering the Dodgers to a victory that let them keep pace in the wild-card race.

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Nats' Strasburg beats Orioles with arm, bat

Express delivery: Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips forces out New York's Chris Stewart during the Reds' 5-2 win over the Yankees on Sunday. AP

WASHINGTON — Stephen Strasburg took a swing and looked in amazement as the baseball carried over the left-field wall.

If Strasburg's first major league homer came as a surprise, his performance on the mound did not. With Strasburg leading the way, the Washington Nationals beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 Sunday to avert a three-game sweep.

In addition to his 2-for-2 performance at the plate, Strasburg (4-1) struck out eight in five innings before being lifted by manager Davey Johnson, who said the pitcher mentioned tightness in his biceps.

"I don't care who it was, if I find out they have tightness, they're out," Johnson said. "I talked to him later in the game. He said it relaxed a bit and was a lot better. I'm not as concerned when it's in the biceps."

Strasburg sent an 0-2 pitch from Chen Wei-yin, the former Chunichi Dragon, into the Baltimore bullpen in the fourth inning to put the Nationals ahead 5-3. After dusting off his home run trot and returning to the dugout, he responded to a curtain call by waving to the crowd of 41,918.

"Shocking, that's for sure," Strasburg said of his clout. "I feel like in (batting practice) I have to swing a lot harder to hit it out. I just somehow ran into one."

Known more for his pitching than his hitting, Strasburg excelled at both. The right-hander allowed three runs, one earned, four hits and a walk in his first career appearance against Baltimore. He retired the last 10 batters he faced.

Tigers 4, Pirates 3

In Detroit, Max Scherzer struck out 15 — the most by a Tigers pitcher in 40 years — and the hosts rallied with three runs in the seventh inning to beat Pittsburgh.

Mickey Lolich had 15 Ks for Detroit in 1972 and set the club record of 16 in 1969.

Marlins 5, Indians 3

In Cleveland, Josh Johnson twice worked out of jams to earn his second straight win and help Miami win an interleague series against the Indians.

Red Sox 5, Phillies 1

In Philadelphia, Josh Beckett pitched 7? strong innings and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a three-run homer to lead Boston over the hosts.

Braves 2, Rays 0

In St. Petersburg, Florida, Tim Hudson scattered four hits over 7? innings and David Ross homered to lead Atlanta over Tampa Bay.

Brewers 16, Twins 4

In Milwaukee, Jonathan Lucroy homered twice and had a career-high seven RBIs, and Zack Greinke pitched six strong innings to lead the Brewers over Minnesota.

Milwaukee's Norichika Aoki had a pinch-hit single in the seventh and scored.

Padres 3, Angels 2 (13)

In San Diego, pitcher Clayton Richard scored the winning run from first base on an error with two outs in the 13th inning to lift the Padres over Los Angeles.

Rangers 6, Astros 1

In Houston, Colby Lewis allowed four hits in eight-plus innings and drove in two runs, and Texas took a five-run lead in the first inning before coasting to the win over the Astros.

Mets 6, Blue Jays 5

In Toronto, Mike Baxter had three hits and came within a home run of the cycle, and Dillon Gee won for the first time in four starts.

Reds 5, Yankees 2

In New York, Johnny Cueto pitched effectively into the eighth inning, Ryan Ludwick delivered two big hits and Cincinnati closed its extended trip to the Big Apple with a win.

Athletics 6, Giants 2

In San Francisco, Collin Cowgill drove in the go-ahead runs and scored in a home plate collision with pitcher Tim Lincecum as Oakland snapped an 11-game skid in San Francisco.

Mariners 6, Rockies 4

In Denver, Jesus Montero and Justin Smoak hit back-to-back home runs, Blake Beavan tied a season-high with seven strikeouts and Seattle beat Colorado to complete a three-game sweep.

The Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki hit a double, the 500th of his career, in four at-bats and scored once.

Diamondbacks 2, Royals 0

In Kansas City, Wade Miley pitched seven sharp innings and John McDonald drove in the first run with a bunt single to lead Arizona over the hosts.

White Sox 6, Cubs 0

In Chicago, Jake Peavy pitched three-hit ball into the seventh inning and Adam Dunn hit his 14th homer to help the White Sox complete a three-game sweep of their crosstown rivals.

White Sox outfielder Kosuke Fukudome went 1-for-4 and is now batting .175.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Dodgers 6, Cardinals 5

In Los Angeles, pinch hitter Scott Van Slyke connected for his first major league homer, a go-ahead, three-run shot in the seventh inning against his father's former team, and the Dodgers rallied to beat St. Louis.

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Orioles say Wada surgery a success

NEW YORK — Tsuyoshi Wada has undergone ligament replacement surgery on his left elbow and reports no complications, the Baltimore Orioles said on Friday.

The former Fukuoka Softbank Hawks pitcher will be out for the rest of the season. A date to begin his rehabilitation in Sarasota, Florida, has not been set.

In a statement released by the club, Wada was quoted as saying: "The procedure went as planned and Dr. (Lewis) Yocum felt good about how it went. He predicts a full recovery. I'm glad to have this over with and look forward to beginning my rehabilitation so I can get back to pitching for the Orioles as soon as possible."

Wada, 31, signed a two-year, $8.15 million contract with the Orioles in December but has been unable to make his major league debut due to elbow pain and a ligament tear.

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Orioles' Wada to have elbow surgery

NEW YORK — Baltimore Orioles left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada will have elbow-ligament reconstruction surgery, likely delaying the Japanese left-hander's major league debut for a year.

Wada has been sidelined since the last week of spring training. He was previously diagnosed with ligament damage after a magnetic resonance angiogram and saw Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles for a second opinion this week. The Angels' team doctor will perform the surgery May 11.

"We've identified for sure the problem and now with the way medicine is and surgical procedures we can proceed with getting him ready for next year," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "The sooner the better."

The 31-year-old Wada signed an $8.15 million, two-year contract in December. He made only two appearances during spring training because of soreness in his elbow. The tear was discovered after a rehabilitation outing for Triple-A Norfolk.

Wada was 107-61 with a 3.13 ERA and 1,329 strikeouts in 210 career games (207 starts) over nine seasons with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. In his 52 starts over the last two seasons, he went 33-13 with a 2.29 ERA.

Wada is the latest pitcher to have the operation known as Tommy John surgery. Reds closer Ryan Madson and Mets starter Mike Pelfrey are among those that had the surgery this year. Recovery usually takes a year. Phil Humber, who threw a perfect game for the Chicago White Sox in April, had the operation in 2005.

Also, left-hander Zach Britton, who hasn't played all season because of discomfort in his left shoulder, will begin pitching in extended spring games. He is scheduled for outings on May 10, 15 and 21. If all goes well, he could make a rehab start May 26.

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Southpaw Chen joins Orioles

Nagoya — Taiwanese pitcher Chen Wei-yin spurned a multiyear offer from Chunichi to sign a three-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles, the Dragons said Tuesday.

Chen will hold a news conference in Nagoya next Tuesday to formally announce his move. The Dragons wished the 26-year-old lefty well after five seasons, during which he averaged a 2.59 ERA and won 36 games.

"It's the reason he came to Japan in the first place, to try to get a shot," Chunichi official Takashi Ide said. "It's great he's realized his dream."

According to the Baltimore Sun, Chen's deal with the Orioles is for three years and between $11 million and $12 million, pending passage of a physical.

This winter, Baltimore signed another southpaw from Japanese baseball in Tsuyoshi Wada, who made the jump from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks for a two-year, $8.15 million deal.

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