Yanks give Britton a pounding headache

The hits came in abrupt succession. Without warning, the Yankees welcomed Orioles rookie starter Zach Britton to the Bronx as only they can, pounding him with seven hits in one-third of an inning in Game 2 of yesterday's doubleheader.

Britton, 23, who had faced the Yankees only once before at Camden Yards, wound up being charged with nine runs. And when the 40-minute half-inning finally came to an end, the Yankees had a 12-0 lead and were well on their way to a 17-3 win.

It was the second consecutive start in which Britton failed to last an inning. After surrendering eight runs (seven earned) and six hits against Boston on July 8, he was sent to the minors.

Britton didn't know what hit him. His voice trembled ever so slightly as he searched for a way to make sense of it all. "It's tough to swallow," he said. "The game's over in the first inning. As a position player, I can't imagine what they're thinking. They know that there's no way we're going to win this game, most likely . . . It's a struggle I've never been through before."

Britton said nerves didn't contribute to his dismal performance and that his lack of execution was to blame. "The stuff was there," he insisted.

Reliever Jason Berken fared no better. The Yankees put a beating on him as well, tagging him for seven runs and eight hits in his 22/3 innings. By the time he was done, the score was 16-1 -- after three innings.

Swisher, who hit a two-run homer in Game 1, added a two-run shot off Berken to put the Yankees up 12-0.

"We were bound to have a breakout game like this," said Swisher, who went 6-for-10 with four runs, two home runs and five RBIs Saturday. "We needed that. You saw so many quality at-bats. I think that's one of the things we try to do every time up there is just put a quality at-bat together because we feel with our lineup, 1 to 9, all you have to do is pass the torch to the next guy."

Britton said he knew the game had unraveled when, with five runs already home in the first, the Yankees loaded the bases on a chopper by Brett Gardner that bounced off home plate and rolled toward the mound. Said Britton: "That's when you know it's not your day."