Yankees

Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy, who has spent the entire season hitting in the sixth and seventh spots in the lineup, is batting third tonight against the Yankees. Hardy had his 13-game hitting streak snapped Sunday, but he's still hitting .333 (18-for-54) with two doubles, five homers, eight runs and 10 RBIs over his past 14 games. He is also 9-for-28 (.321) with one homer and five RBIs in his career against Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia. Second baseman Alexi Casilla, who is 14-for-24 (.583)

Earlier this week, the Orioles were spiraling out of the American League East race, couldn't win at home and were watching helplessly as their staunch bullpen faltered and their starters routinely checked out early. Suddenly, after winning two straight against the division-leading New York Yankees - including Wednesday night's 6-3 victory - it's May again. There's no need for panic. For the moment, it's all Natty Bohs and roses (or Black-Eyed Susans) at Camden Yards. “I think so,” said Orioles' first baseman Chris Davis when asked if beating the Yankees in the last two games should calm the masses for a bit. “I think the fact that it was against New York, who's at the top of our division and a team we feel we can compete with, I think it was huge.

Orioles closer Jim Johnson can be depended on to always be at his locker to answer questions anytime he becomes a focal point of a game following a blown save. Those times have been rare, until recently, as Johnson has blown three consecutive ninth-inning leads that all ended in losses.Following the Orioles' 6-4 loss to the New York Yankees in the 10th inning on Monday at Camden Yards, Johnson put the team's season-high six-game losing streak in perspective. “Well, three of them are my fault,” Johnson said.

You could pick a number of storylines from a sticky, summer-like Tuesday evening at Camden Yards and really not go wrong. There was the obvious, made-for-TV clip of Nate McLouth lifting a game-ending homer over the right-field wall in the bottom of the 10 th inning to give the Orioles a 3-2 victory over the New York Yankees and snap a season-worst six-game losing streak.  There was maligned closer Jim Johnson (2-4) throwing an eight-pitch, perfect 10 th inning to pick up the win after blowing three consecutive saves in the last week.

Today was a busy news afternoon in Birdland. A day after his worse outing of the spring, the Orioles designated left-hander Dana Eveland for assignment. They also added infielder Zelous Wheeler to the 40-man roster and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. Oh, and shortstop J.J. Hardy, who missed his third game Thursday with a bum shoulder, seems OK and said he should play Friday. Oh, and the Orioles are playing a game tonight. The O's face the Yankees under the lights at Steinbrenner Field.

Upward to $3 billion Steve Gould Baltimore Sun An awful lot of money. We're talking way more than any American sports team has been sold for before. Forbes valued the Yankees at $1.85 billion in March, and the general belief among experts and analysts seems to be that, in the wake of the Dodgers' being sold for $2.15 billion later that month, the Yankees would command about $3 billion. Much of that value is tied to the team's stake in YES, its regional sports network.

How it happened: Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie experienced an unpleasant rewind to the 2009 season, when he led the American League in losses and home runs allowed. On this night, Guthrie lasted just 4 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits, a walk and a hit batsman. New York had scored six runs before the Orioles got their first, in the bottom of the third inning. Yankees starter CC Sabathia didn't have his best stuff, giving up three earned runs on 11 hits and two walks, but he was effective enough to last 7 2/3 innings and preserve the large lead with which he was presented.

The mistake-prone Jeremy Guthrie from last season had been noticeably absent through four starts, but he reappeared Wednesday night in time to wipe out the Orioles' hopes of building on an all-too modest winning streak. Guthrie was hammered for seven runs over 4 2/3 innings, while his counterpart and former Cleveland Indians teammate CC Sabathia scattered 11 hits over 7 2/3 innings in the New York Yankees' 8-3 victory in front of an announced 17,248 at Camden Yards. The loss, pretty much a formality after the Yankees built a 5-0 lead off Guthrie by the top of the second inning, dropped the Orioles to 4-17 and ended their brief foray with winning at two games.

Orioles closer Jim Johnson can be depended on to always be at his locker to answer questions anytime he becomes a focal point of a game following a blown save. Those times have been rare, until recently, as Johnson has blown three consecutive ninth-inning leads that all ended in losses.Following the Orioles' 6-4 loss to the New York Yankees in the 10th inning on Monday at Camden Yards, Johnson put the team's season-high six-game losing streak in perspective. “Well, three of them are my fault,” Johnson said.

Chris Dickerson received the start in center field Tuesday night against the Yankees, and through his first two at-bats, he's making the most out of the opportunity. Dickerson has hit two solo homers off Yankees starter Phil Hughes for his first multi-homer game of his major league career. Dickerson spent the past two seasons with the Yankees, hitting just three homers in a 64 at-bats. Now he has three homers -- all in his past three starts -- in 33 at bats with the Orioles this season In the third inning, Dickerson took a 3-2 fastball over the outer half of the plate into the center field bleachers.

Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy, who has spent the entire season hitting in the sixth and seventh spots in the lineup, is batting third tonight against the Yankees. Hardy had his 13-game hitting streak snapped Sunday, but he's still hitting .333 (18-for-54) with two doubles, five homers, eight runs and 10 RBIs over his past 14 games. He is also 9-for-28 (.321) with one homer and five RBIs in his career against Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia. Second baseman Alexi Casilla, who is 14-for-24 (.583)

Miguel Gonzalez, who has been on the disabled list since May 9 (retroactive to May 4) with a blister on his right thumb, will start against the Yankees on Tuesday. He said it's been difficult to not be able to pitch in a game while not really being injured. “I've been telling the guys that it is frustrating not to be out there because of a blister,” said Gonzalez, who is 2-2 with a 4.58 ERA in six starts this season. “And it's not an injury or anything like that. You just have to sit down and wait for it to heal.” Since he threw 80-plus pitches in a simulated game Friday and the blister appears to be healed, Gonzalez said he believes he'll be able to pitch as long as he is needed on Tuesday.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly first met Orioles manager Buck Showalter 22 years ago as 20-year-old minor leaguer. They were teammates for the Yankees' Double-A team in Nashville. Tonight, they will manage against each other for the first time in the opener of this weekend's interleague series at Camden Yards. Mattingly said he noticed Showalter's ability to gauge talent once Showalter became a coach and eventually managed Mattingly with the Yankees from 1993-95. “You really see it as a manager,” Mattingly said.

The Orioles' success of last year earned them a spot on the national stage at Yankee Stadium, the team's first nationally televised Sunday Night Baseball game since 2008. Being the only game on the schedule at that time, the baseball world was watching. But the spotlight did nothing to warm the Orioles' bats, which went cold in a 3-0 loss to the Yankees on a chilly night in the Bronx. In their first game on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball since the last game at the old Yankee Stadium five seasons ago, the Orioles managed just five hits - all singles - against Yankees right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, who recorded the first complete-game shutout against Baltimore since the Mets' R.A. Dickey tossed a one-hit complete game shutout last June.

Lost in the Orioles' 3-0 shutout loss to the Yankees Sunday night at Yankee Stadium was the relief performance of Rule 5 pick T.J. McFarland. Orioles manager Buck Showalter has said it regularly, that you can't hide a reliever in the AL East. Yet, McFarland hadn't pitched in eight days since making his major league debut against the Twins on two Saturday's ago. On Sunday night, McFarland entered a three-run game in the seventh inning and allowed just one hit over two scoreless innings, walking one and striking out three - including the final two batters he faced in the eighth, Kevin Youkilis and Ben Francisco.

With a win tonight on national television, the Orioles can win their fourth straight series at Yankee Stadium for the first time since May 14, 1976 through May 22, 1977. No player on the Orioles' current 25-man roster was born then, so that's a long time. A win tonight would be significant because it would give the Orioles series wins in Boston and New York before heading home for a nine-game homestand against the Rays, Dodgers and Blue Jays. An interesting stat to pass along from the Elias Sports Bureau: Last night's 5-3 win over the Yankees was their 96th straight regular-season win when leading after seven innings dating back to August 2011.