Yankees

The Orioles' lineup for Friday's game against the Yankees is out. No surprises. Go with what got you there. Markakis 9, Hardy 6, McLouth 7, Jones 8, Wieters 2, Reynolds 3, Davis DH, Machado 5, Andino 4. Chen 1. The Orioles are 8-7 in 15 games versus the Yankees this year with three to play (through Sunday).

There have been glimpses of the Brad Bergesen from last season. He retired 14 straight and took a two-hitter into the eighth inning of his last start against the Oakland Athletics. He pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings against the Minnesota Twins on May 6, and then allowed only one run over 7 2/3 innings in his next start against the Seattle Mariners. But those starts have been more the exception than the norm for Bergesen, whose 2009 form remains more elusive than ever. Bergesen allowed six earned runs, got just seven outs and never gave his team a chance to break their most recent losing streak in the Orioles' 9-1 loss to the New York Yankees Wednesday before an announced 44,465 at Yankee Stadium.

SARSOTA, Fla. --It's split-squad day! Today marks the first of two Orioles' split-squad dates but this is the only day-night split-squad day-night double header. The Orioles travel team will board the bus from Sarasota at 8:45 a.m. and head to Tampa to face the Yankees.  I'll be providing updates from Steinbrenner Field as right-hander Jake Arrieta starts for the Orioles. Columnist Peter Schmuck will be covering the Orioles nightcap home game against the Red Sox here at Ed Smith Stadium.

The Orioles know that C.C. Sabathia is one of the best pitchers in the game, but they have to be going into Sunday's American League Division Series opener confident given their success against the Yankees left-hander this season. Sabathia is winless in three starts with a 6.38 ERA against the Orioles this season, with Baltimore winning those last two starts. He's allowed at least four runs in each of those outings and hasn't lasted more than 6 1/3 innings in any of those starts.

The Orioles and Yankees lineups are posted, and there are no surprises on the Orioles' end. A couple interesting notes on the Yankees' side, however. First, Derek Jeter is in the lineup leading off, but serving as the designated hitter. He fouled a ball off his left foot and left Wednesday's game. But it was hard to believe he wouldn't be in the lineup with the Yankees being able to clinch a berth to the American League Championship Series with a win. Also, Alex Rodriguez, who is mired in a 1-for-12 slump with seven strikeouts, was dropped from third in the order to fifth.

From the Sun's archives: This time last year remnants of Tropical Storm Lee were playing havoc with the Orioles and Yankees. Both teams were getting water logged. The Orioles had started a three-game series at Yankee stadium on a steamy Sept. 5, losing 11-10. On Sept. 6, Yankees won 5-3 after a 4-hour rain delay. Sept. 7, the Orioles triumphed 5-4 after playing 11 innings on a soggy day in the Bronx. They returned to Camden Yards on Sept. 8 to play the Yankees in a make-up game from Aug. 27 that was canceled by Hurricane Irene.

Both Buck Showalter and Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette have said that Jason Hammel's possible early-September return from knee surgery would make essentially the same impact of a late-season trade. And after Hammel threw a late-afternoon bullpen session Tuesday, Showalter said the Orioles' ace will be activated from the disabled list before Thursday's game and start in that nightagainst the Yankees at Camden Yards. There was some question whether the right-hander, who had arthroscopic right-knee surgery in mid-May, would be activated this week or need one more minor league rehab start.

The Yankees clubhouse, a coolly professional space after wins and losses alike, was giddy about Raul Ibanez's theatrics on Wednesday night. "You can't script something like that," New York outfielder Nick Swisher said. "Talk about a huge momentum shift in our favor. And man, we're excited to get back here tomorrow and try to close out the series. " Swisher gushed about Ibanez's professionalism in waiting around all game, only to pounce on the first good pitch he saw "In situations like that, it's such a stressful time, trying to go out and put quality at-bats together," Swisher said.

Leave it to the Yankees to suck all the joy out of the Orioles' first playoff game in 15 years. They have made a habit of that kind of thing, so it probably was silly to expect anything else in the long-awaited American League Division Series opener at Camden Yards. Maybe the Orioles and their fans were fooling themselves to think their magical season would mean anything against the $200 million Yankees lineup that has bullied them for all these many years. There's no other way to explain them scoring five runs in the ninth inning off Jim Johnson, who has been one of the most dominating closers in the major leagues.