The Baltimore Orioles are once again tied for first place in the American League East after powering to a 10-6 win over the New York Yankees on Thursday night.
The Orioles outlasted and outhit the Yankees in a wild game that saw six total home runs and nine combined runs scored in the eighth inning. The Orioles hit three homers in the eighth alone, including a 422-foot shot from Adam Jones that put the team in the lead for good.
"That's the biggest hit I've ever had in my life. Everything else up to this point has been leading up to this," Jones told the Associated Press.
The Yankees were down 6-1 heading into the eighth inning before scoring five runs to tie the game. New York used four walks and a two-run single by Ichiro Suzuki to even things up.
Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson both had hits, including a double from Rodriguez that scored Nick Swisher.
The game wasn't tied for long though. Jones hit a leadoff home run in the eighth inning and was followed by a two-run shot from Mark Reynolds, his second of the game, and a solo home run from Chris Davis.
Reynolds has been a headache for the Yankees this year, connecting for six home runs against the team on the season.
For years when the Yankees played at Baltimore the crowds could clearly be heard rooting for the road team, but on this night the crowd was clearly all Orioles.
"I've always asked our trainer, Richie Bancells, how loud can this place get? I always asked that," Jones said. "After I hit that home run, he came up to me and said, 'That's how loud this place can get.' "
Baltimore is playing its best baseball in over a decade and has won 10 of 13 games. The team hasn't made the playoffs or finished with a .500 record since 1997.
The team was trailing the Yankees for the division lead by 10 games in mid-July, but have surged while New York has struggled.
Injuries and pitching have been key problems for the Yankees lately, including on Thursday when starter David Phelps gave up five runs in four innings. Baltimore starter Jason Hammel was sharp, giving up only one run over five innings of work.
The Yankee offense was stifled until late in the game, although outfielder Ichiro Suzuki had three hits on the night. Suzuki also stole a base for his 20th of the season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the 22nd player in major league history with 12 seasons of 20 stolen bases.
The slumping Granderson, who is hitting just .233, had two hits and two RBI's in the losing effort.
The Yankees will start Phil Hughes (13-12, 4.18 ERA) on Friday, while the Orioles will counter with rookie Wei-Yin Chen (12-8, 3.79 ERA).
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