JOSH HAMILTON
Ice cold finish.
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Yankees not only have to show they can beat the Orioles and their terrific bullpen in a short series, they are going to have to find a way to beat baseball mastermind Buck Showalter.
It’s not going to be easy.
Showalter gambled and won big last night, starting lefty Joe Saunders, who was 0-6 with a 9.38 lifetime at the Ballpark in Arlington, and the veteran allowed only one run over 5 2/3 innings. Then the Baltimore bullpen closed the deal, giving the Orioles a rousing 5-1 victory over the Rangers in this first ever do-or-die AL wild-card game.
This was the first playoff stop on the Buck is Back Tour as Showalter beat his old team, the two-time defending AL champion Rangers. The Yankees are next on Showalter’s list. Buck took the Yankees to the playoffs in 1995, their first time back since 1981, and that was the end of the Yankees road for him.
As his players showered each other with champagne in the visiting clubhouse last night, Showalter stood in a hallway with several reporters. He was asked about beating his former team with the Yankees coming up next.
Showalter smiled and said: “I’m all for irony.’’
Yes, he is, and the Yankees better be ready for anything with Showalter at the helm.
As for his thoughts on the Yankees, Showalter said: “They’re as good as there is in the league. I think Texas is, too. It’s such a roll of the dice this time of year.’’
Expect the Orioles to be aggressive in everything they do. They stole two bases last night early with Yu Darvish on the mound after stealing a major league low 58 all season.
“Timid doesn’t work too well this time of year,’’ Showalter said. “These players raised the bar here. I knew in the spring we had a great group of people.’’
All the right buttons were pushed. The Orioles are 75-0 this season when leading after seven innings.
Noted veteran Jim Thome of the genius of Showalter: “The one thing about Buck is he is very well prepared, you are never going to be out-prepared with him.’’
No you won’t.
This is Buck Ball, where you make the most of what you have and the Orioles have done that all season. That is what they will try to do again against the Yankees. The teams were 9-9 against one another during the regular season. The Orioles scored 92 runs, the Yankees 90.
The series starts tomorrow and it starts in Baltimore this year under the new format.
Asked by The Post if he would go with Jason Hammel the first game, Showalter would not commit, saying, “We are now back to having options. There are three guys we can pick from Sunday.’’
Those three are Hammel, who has not pitched in nearly a month because of knee problems, Wei-Yin Chen and Yankees killer Miguel Gonzalez.
Saunders got the big ground balls when he needed them. During the season Saunders got 11 ground-ball double plays over 174 2/3 innings. Last night he rolled three double-play balls over the first five innings.
In the eighth with the Orioles leading 3-1 and a runner on second and Josh Hamilton up, Showalter replaced Darren O’Day with lefty Brian Matusz, who struck out Hamilton on three pitches as catcher Matt Wieters pumped his fist. Hamilton is 0-for-10 lifetime against Matusz with six strikeouts.
Score another one for Buck, who understands much about this game, including the life of a manager.
“I understand the shelf-life of a manager, you don’t take it personally and every situation calls for a different voice,’’ he said.
Showalter’s voice is the perfect voice for these Orioles.
The Buck didn’t stop here.
Of this victory, he said, “This was sudden life instead of sudden death. To be continued.’’
With that, center fielder Adam Jones, who was spraying champagne around the room, spotted Showalter and said, “Get your butt in here.’’
It was finally time to celebrate.