Morning Bits

Good morning everyone!

The Yankees lost to the Orioles by a score of 2-1 yesterday and fell to fourth place in the AL East.

Hiroki Kuroda pitched seven innings of shutout ball, followed by an untarnished inning by David Robertson before Mariano Rivera came on to blow his second save of the year.

The Yankee offense was putrid, managing only six hits against journeyman Jason Hammel and no hits against the cadre of relievers who followed him.

The Yankees will play the first of four games against the Royals tonight at Yankee Stadium.  Phil Hughes(4-7, 4.55 ERA) will face Jeremy Guthrie(7-6, 4.29 ERA) tonight in a game that starts at 7:05 PM ET which will be televised by YES.

Now on to today's news links:

John Harper of the New York Daily News says the Yankees lack of power and reliance on pitching can only take them so far.

Wally Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com reports that Yankee pitcher Michael Pineda's return to the big leagues is still on hold.

Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes that Derek Jeter hopes his stay in the mountains is a brief one.

Bill Madden of the New York Daily News thinks the Yankees could be a big player as the trade deadline approaches.

Have a great day everyone!