Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo gave some serious thought to walking Derek Jeter intentionally. He is, after all, the New York Yankees' top hitter, one of the toughest outs in the clutch and a player who has made Orioles pitcher Rodrigo Lopez's life miserable in the past.
However, with a man on third and one out in the eighth inning and Jorge Posada waiting on deck, Perlozzo left it up to Lopez, hoping that the demoted starter would not give in to Jeter. He did, leaving a pitch over the plate that Jeter hammered to right field for an RBI single.
