Cervelli takes a hit, but makes the play

BALTIMORE -- With his legs tucked under him, Francisco Cervelli sat on home plate, slightly dazed.

Nick Markakis had rung his bell pretty good, but somehow there was the Yankees catcher, still holding on to the baseball.

"That's my house, so no one's going to come inside," said Cervelli, who still felt dizzy as he stood in the visitors' clubhouse after Thursday's 5-4, 10-inning loss to the Orioles.

With the Yankees up 4-3 in the seventh, Curtis Granderson chased down Vladimir Guerrero's one-out double as Markakis barreled around the bases and sped toward home. Granderson fired the ball to relay man Robinson Cano, who delivered a one-hop strike to Cervelli. The catcher stuck out his left leg in an attempt to block the runner and as they collided, Markakis threw his shoulder into Cervelli's nose. But Markakis was called out once plate umpire Mike Estabrook saw Cervelli still had control of the ball.

Cervelli said there is little time to think in those moments. "You've got to just hold the ball and that's it," he said.

Granderson said he was equally impressed with Cano's accuracy as he was with Cervelli's toughness.

"The fact that he was able to throw it from as far as he did and be as accurate as he was able to, a combination of all that stuff, it's another reason why he's a Gold Glove second baseman," he said.

Cano said he always peeks at the runner before he catches the relay throw -- that way he doesn't need to look at his target.

"If I set myself before the throw, I don't need to look," the Yankees second baseman said.

Cervelli's body was tested again in the eighth by Mark Reynolds, who tried to score from second on a single to shallow centerfield by Chris Davis. But Granderson's throw to Cervelli was dead-on and the catcher easily tagged out Reynolds.

Though the catcher appeared dazed as he talked to reporters, he said he didn't undergo any concussion tests and insisted he felt good enough to play Friday night.

Said Cervelli: "As a catcher you've got to be tough."

Notes & quotes: Nick Swisher flexed his left hand several times during the game, but afterward refused to elaborate other than "it's not my hand." He added, "It's the end of the season, everybody's banged up. Everybody's got their own bumps and bruises and I've got mine." . . . The postponed Aug. 14 game against Tampa Bay will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader Sept. 21 at the Stadium.