Yanks beat Orioles, 13-2

BALTIMORE -- It's a three-game winning streak that feels longer.

The Yankees, looking nothing like the outfit that lost for the sixth straight game Monday in St. Petersburg, punctuated this short trip with a 13-2 dismantling of the Orioles Thursday night in front of 24,930 at Camden Yards.

"I think they've responded really well, especially with the tough loss we had Monday night,'' Joe Girardi said. "I like what they're doing.''

Backed by an offense that produced 14 hits, including two home runs, three triples and three doubles, CC Sabathia took the mound with a 5-0 lead and had a relatively easy night, which is usually the case for him in this ballpark.

Sabathia, who came in 9-1 with a 3.01 ERA in his career here -- the lone loss being his first start as a Yankee on Opening Day 2009 -- shut out the Orioles in his eight innings. He allowed seven hits and no walks, striking out nine and raising his record against the Orioles to 16-2. He threw 84 of his 109 pitches for strikes.

Suddenly, a listing ship, one facing issues on and off the field, appears steadied as it returns home to take on the Mets in the year's first Subway Series.

"We feel pretty good right now,'' said Nick Swisher, who went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, including a three-run double off leftfielder Felix Pie's glove in the five-run first. "We have a lot of talent in this room and when it comes together, it's fun to watch, and tonight was one of those nights.''

It started early against accidental Orioles starter Brad Bergesen in a 34-pitch first inning. Accidental, because Jeremy Guthrie originally was supposed to start for the Orioles. That changed in the 15th inning Wednesday night when Mike Gonzalez beaned Chris Dickerson and plate umpire Dan Bellino immediately threw the lefthander out of the game. Buck Showalter was forced to bring in Guthrie, leading to Bergesen's start.

That didn't last long. The righthander lasted only 31/3 innings, allowing eight runs, five hits and three walks.

"One through nine, we swung the bats well,'' said Derek Jeter, who led off the first with a double and scored on Curtis Granderson's triple on the game's fifth pitch before tripling home a run and scoring on Mark Teixeira's two-out, two-run homer in the four-run fourth. It was Teixeira's 10th homer.

It also was a night that Jorge Posada started at first base for the 16th time in his career and first time since 2008. He had no noticeable problems in the field. At the plate, Posada, who was 6-for-his-last-15 coming in, went 1-for-3, including an RBI double, with two walks. After entering the game 0-for-24 as a righthanded hitter, he nearly picked up his first hit against a lefthander, but Adam Jones made a nice running catch of his line drive to deep right-center.

"The last 10 games, I feel a lot better,'' Posada said. "I hope I can continue doing what I'm doing. I feel I'm swinging at strikes and getting good pitches to hit.''

In the first, another Yankees batter was hit with a pitch, this time Robinson Cano in the right leg. He later said he's fine.

With what took place the night before -- not to mention the series before that, when Russell Martin was hit between the shoulder blades by Josh Rupe in a game in which the Yankees hit five home runs April 23 -- it seemed likely that an Oriole would be hit.

That was the case in the bottom half of the first when, with two outs and the bases empty, Sabathia drilled Nick Markakis in the middle of his lower back with a 95-mph fastball. Plate umpire Larry Vanover warned both benches and Girardi could be seen nodding at the umpire as if to say, OK, it's over.

Girardi said he thought the warning was warranted and otherwise declined to comment on the pitch, one a stone-faced Sabathia said "just got away from me.''

From then on, it was just baseball, with the Yankees pouring it on. Eduardo Nuñez made it 13-0 in the top of the ninth with a two-run homer.

"Today a lot of guys did a lot of good things,'' Jeter said. "We feel good, but it all starts again tomorrow.''