(
)
BALTIMORE — Lords of the Underground’s “Chief Rocka’’ poured out of the speakers in the ceiling of the Yankees’ clubhouse loud enough to strip the paint from the cement walls.
Russell Martin, having selected the track, bobbed as he moved from the closet where the amplifier was housed to the shower.
So, this is what a pennant race victory sounds like?
“This is September baseball,’’ Martin said after helping the Yankees to an 8-5 win over the Orioles with a three-run homer that keyed a five-run fourth that included a two-run poke by Steve Pearce. “This is what I envisioned.’’
The Yankees’ sixth win in 16 games nudged them ahead of the second-place Orioles by a length in the AL East and was witnessed by a Camden Yards gathering of 40,861.
“Every game from now on is huge,’’ said Alex Rodriguez, who crushed a two-run homer in the fifth that upped the Yankees’ lead to 7-0.”Getting tested now will benefit us later.’’
With a 7-0 bulge in the fifth the Yankees appeared to be on the way to a rare laugher. But first baseman Nick Swisher failed to field J.J. Hardy’s leadoff grounder in the sixth, Nate McLouth doubled and Adam Jones ripped into a middle-of-the-plate pitch from Phil Hughes for a three-run homer that cut the lead to four runs and gave the large crowd hope.
“I had to get some clean innings early to give us a chance to get a lead,’’ said Hughes, who improved to 14-12 by limiting the O’s to three runs (two earned) and six hits in six innings.
Joe Girardi could have extended Hughes’ stay for a few more outs, but turned it over to almost the same relievers that melted in Thursday night’s 10-6 loss.
Cody Eppley started the seventh and gave up a one-out homer to Robert Andino, the No. 9 hitter, that cut the lead to 7-4. Boone Logan, who allowed a homer Thursday night, retired the next three hitters and turned it over to David Robertson with one out in the eighth.
Robertson, who was spanked for two homers and three runs in the eighth Thursday, struck out Adam Jones, who homered off him the night before, with a wicked curveball and retired Mark Wieters, who singled Thursday, on a fly to center.
After Derek Jeter’s third single scored Ichiro Suzuki and hiked the lead to 8-4 in the ninth, Rafael Soriano gave up a homer to Manny Machado in the bottom of the inning but nothing more.
“You are going to have bad nights and I felt like I let the team down,’’ Robertson said of Thursday’s nightmare. “Tonight I faced the same hitters and got them out.’’
Across the final 24 games the Yankees are going to need to flex their considerable muscles much like they did last night. They get Mark Teixeira back today and Rodriguez’s blast reached the back wall of the Yankees’ bullpen in deep left-center; a sign he might be able to carry the Yankees in the final two dozen games.
“It looks like we have the bats going,’’ said Martin, who has 16 homers. “We have to take advantage when pitchers leave pitches up in the zone.’’
Lefty Wei-Yin Chen gave up all three Yankees homers and fell to 12-9.
When you look at tight pennant races in the last month of the season, the club with the better arms usually is the way to bet. But too much inconsistency from the Yankees starters puts the onus on the hitters. Last night they accepted the responsibility
“It starts with the little things,’’ Rodriguez said. “Our DNA is home runs but it starts with good at-bats.’’