Recap: Yankees 8, Orioles 6

Ugly wins are still wins.

At least that's what the Yankees will tell themselves Saturday night, having done everything in their power to blow a big lead for the third straight game.

Up 7-0 on the Orioles, the Yankees were cruising through six and a half innings, but that was about the same time their pitching decided home runs were fun to give up. Indeed, the Orioles went deep three times in the seventh to pull to within a run, before the Yanks ultimately held on for an 8-6 victory.

Things began swimmingly for the Yankees against the Orioles' Tyler Wilson. New York's struggling offense, which has experienced a renaissance this week, tagged the right-hander for five earned runs over four innings, including a four-spot in the fourth.

Starlin Castro and Rob Refsnyder each logged an RBI double. Austin Romine plated two more with a single and a sac fly. Didi Gregorius got another man in with a grounder to second.

And following Wilson's early removal, the Yankees kept pouring it on. Castro drove in his second run of the evening with a single off Dylan Bundy, and Jacoby Ellsbury seemingly put the nail in the coffin with a steal of home in the sixth.

But the blowout wasn't real.

Mark Trumbo kicked off Baltimore's unexpected post-stretch rally with a solo blast off Ivan Nova, Pedro Alvarez lined a two-run shot of his own two batters later and after Nova's exit, Adam Jones crushed a Nick Goody offering for a three-run bomb to left.

Just like that, Nova had been charged with five earned runs and the Yankees found themselves having to squeeze nine outs from their bullpen without the help of Dellin Betances.

Fortunately for them, Andrew Miller was up for the challenge.

Miller retired all six hitters he faced in the seventh and eighth, retaining the Yankees' advantage long enough to calm everyone down. Miller fanned two while needing just 28 pitches, perhaps keeping him available for Sunday.

Alex Rodriguez provided some insurance with a run-scoring single in the ninth, and with a solid cushion to work with, Aroldis Chapman was able to complete the save. 

It could've been a lot smoother, but ugly wins are still wins. 

WHAT IT MEANS: The Yankees improve to 26-29 on the season, five games behind the Mariners for the second wild-card spot.

NEXT UP: The Yankees look to take this series in Sunday's finale. CC Sabathia (3-4, 2.85 ERA) and Kevin Gausman (0-3, 3.78 ERA) are slated to be your starters, with first pitch set for 1:35 p.m. ET.

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles 6/4

Saturday night baseball on FOX with the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles, what a way to waste away the weekend. I’m well past the partying stage in my life so sitting at home with the family in front of the AC while watching the Yankees is my idea of a good time and we will have just that tonight as the New York Yankees face off with the Baltimore Orioles in the middle game of their three game set. In this contest the Yankees will send Ivan Nova to the mound looking to rebound from a strong of rough starts while the Orioles counter with Tyler Wilson. The game will be played at 7:15 pm ET inside Oriole Park and Camden Yards and can be seen on FOX.

Just one more game tomorrow before the Yankees return home to play host to Albert Pujols, Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the Bronx. To see any of those iconic players live and in person inside Yankee Stadium click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog to snag your tickets from the site. Also be sure to follow along all season long, home or away, on Twitter with us by giving @GreedyStripes a follow. We’re social because it’s social media, makes sense right?

Saturday night baseball on FOX. Let’s do it. Go Yankees!

Recap: Yankees 7, Orioles 0

With his club sinking ever so further into the basement of the American League, CC Sabathia needed to give the Yankees some hope Wednesday night.

And for at least one game, the big lefty earned all of his $23 million salary.

Sabathia yielded just six hits across seven scoreless innings, and though it took a while for their offense to catch on, the Yankees cruised to a 7-0 victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards.

Sabathia found himself in trouble throughout the contest, but the Orioles were never able to capitalize. Ultimately, Baltimore finished just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, leaving eight on base.

The home team's struggles opened the door for the struggling Yankees' bats to pull away.

The Yankees jumped ahead with three runs in the sixth, putting an end to Tyler Wilson's shutout bid. Carlos Beltran kicked off the rally with a sac fly to center, and from there, an RBI single from Brian McCann and a throwing error by Wilson put New York in the driver's seat.

The Yankees had stranded runners at third twice in the first five innings, but once they grabbed the lead, their lineup didn't let up.

The Yanks added four more off the O's bullpen in the eighth, courtesy of another clutch knock from McCann -- this time a two-run double -- and RBIs from Didi Gregorius and Brett Gardner.

Lead-off man Jacoby Ellsbury did an excellent job setting the table on the evening, going 3-for-3 with two walks and a run. Dellin Betances, meanwhile, escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam upon entering in the eighth -- striking out Chris Davis on three pitches before Mark Trumbo popped to third.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Yankees snapped their six-game losing streak, improving their record on the year to 9-16. They remain last in the AL East, 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Red Sox.

NEXT UP: The Yankees look to salvage this series on Thursday. Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 2.87 ERA) and Kevin Gausman (0-1, 2.45 ERA) are slated to be your starters, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. ET.